Hischier scored with a wrist shot from the slot following a diving pass by Dawson Mercer from the left circle to extend the lead to 3-1 at 11:47 of the third.
"When it's a tough building to play in, there's a lot of juice in here and a lot of energy," Hughes said. "That's when it's the most fun for the players to play and it probably brings the best out of our group."
New Jersey went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and is 16-for-17 through four games.
"Special teams, especially tonight, really helped us win this game," Meier said. "[Allen] made a lot of huge saves for us. We took more penalties than we'd like, but guys out there battled and sacrificed. Getting those kills also helped us gain momentum."
Rodrigues gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 1:59 of the first period by chipping the puck over Allen's right pad from outside the left post. Brad Marchand had the primary assist to become the first player age 37 or older with a five-game point streak (three goals, three assists) for the Panthers since Jaromir Jagr in 2016-17 (five games at age 45).
"We have to find a way to get the next one," Rodrigues said. "We played well early on. Overall, we have things we can tighten up."
Hughes tied the game 1-1 with a power-play goal at 5:48 of the second period. He scored from a tough angle low in the left face-off circle with a snap shot that hit the shoulder of Tarasov and entered under the crossbar. Bratt earned the assist, the 300th of his NHL career.
"I mean, if you watch that power play, I'm probably in that same spot with the puck three times," Hughes said. "I'm kind of just going through my reads. Even on the first read, a lot of opportunities. It was good movement for our group. I think Luke [Hughes] missed a one-timer there and that kind of opens it up for me.
"I can't do that shot all the time because the goalies probably have a read on me that I like shooting there. But sometimes, I see when I can definitely pick that spot."
