PREVIEW: Panthers Look to Bounce Back in New Jersey

Less than 24 hours removed from their first regulation loss of the season, the Panthers will look to get right back in the win column when they battle the Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.
Prior to that defeat, Florida's 10-0-1 start was tied for the best through 11 games in NHL history.

"I think we're heading in the right direction with the right mentality," Cats defenseman Radko Gudas said following Monday's loss in New York. "We're going to mentally prepares ourselves for tomorrow. We're not going to win all of them in the season, so we need to learn from this."
Opening up their season on an 11-game point streak, the Panthers finally hit their first bump in the road last night in the Big Apple. Falling into a 2-0 hole against the Rangers in the first period, they then went down 4-0 after giving up a pair of goals while at 4-on-4 play in the second period.
But even in a game where nothing was going right, the Cats kept on clawing.
Finally getting one past Igor Shesterkin just 20 seconds into the third period, Eetu Luostarinen scored to trim the deficit to 4-1. Then, with 1:26 remaining in regulation, Sam Reinhart sniped a shot to make it 4-2. Making it a one-goal game in the blink of an eye, Patric Hornqvist then fired a shot that went off Maxim Mamin and in to make it 4-3 with only 40 seconds left on the clock.
And even though they came up short in the end, that late push left the team full of confidence.
"I really loved that we didn't give up," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. "We competed right until the end. I thought that we tried all game, but we just made some mental mistakes that were costly, and that's going to happen. … I liked our compete. We pushed late."
With no morning skate, updates on tonight's lineup won't be available until closer to puck drop.
That being said, Sergei Bobrovsky, who was a game-time decision but didn't suit up yesterday, could potentially return after missing two games with an upper-body injury if he's feeling up to it. With a stellar .948 save percentage, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner boasts a 6-0-0 record.
If Bobrovsky can't go, however, look for rookie Spencer Knight, who made 14 save against the Rangers last night, or Christopher Gibson, who was recalled from the AHL on Saturday, to start.
As for additional injury notes, Mason Marchment, Sam Bennett, Joe Thornton, Olli Juolevi and Markus Nutivaara are all currently considered day-to-day with various ailments as of right now.
"We've got to be cleaner," Brunette said of facing New Jersey. "We have to be ready to play."
Ranking second in the league on offense with an average of 4.08 goals per game, Aleksander Barkov leads the Panthers in scoring with 13 points (seven goals, six assists). Next up, Anthony Duclair (eight goals, four assists) and Jonathan Huberdeau (three goals, nine assists) have 12.
Through just 12 games, 14 different players have posted at least five points.
Always bringing a relentless attack to the ice, the Panthers registered a season-high 91 shot attempts against the Rangers their last time out. That being said, Reinhart, who has tallied 10 points this season, believes the team could've done a better job around the net in New York.
"I think it was a combination of them doing a good job keeping us to the outside and then we didn't do a good enough job penetrating the middle and making it tough on them defensively," he said. "I think a number of those [shots], we didn't make it hard enough around their net."
Breaking out of a three-game losing streak, the Devils enter tonight's matchup fresh off a 3-2 shootout win at San Jose on Saturday. Against the Sharks, Ryan Graves and Janne Kuokkanen each scored in regulation, while Damon Severson buried the winner in the skills competition.
Holding down the fort in net, Jonathan Bernier turned aside 25 of 37 shots against San Jose to improve to 4-1-0 with a 2.55 goals-against average and .910 save percentage on the season.
"It's a great feeling as a player, especially when you get that vote of confidence from your coach. I think [Devils coach Lindy Ruff] made you guys aware we had a good conversation this morning," Severson told reporters after the win.
"It's not one of those things that happened last game that you're just going to let slide ... and then when you get to finish a game like that and put an icing on the cake to our road trip, that's a huge goal and a great feeling."
The 28th-ranked team in the league on offense (2.50 goals per game on average), Pavel Zacha and Andreas Johnsson are tied for first on New Jersey in scoring with just seven points apiece.
Leading the team's defensemen with six points (two goals, four assists), Dougie Hamilton, who inked a seven-year contract with the Devils as a free agent during the offseason, practiced with the team on Monday after missing the last two contests while dealing with a lower-body injury.
Facing off for the first time since 2019-20, Florida went 2-0-0 against New Jersey that season.

PANTHERS NOTES

• As a reminder, tonight's game will be available to watch exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu.
  - Jonathan Huberdeau has posted 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 19 career games against the Devils.
  - Brandon Montour has notched 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 10 career games against the Devils.
  - Aaron Ekblad ranks tied for first among the league's defensemen with four goals. He also ranks tied for sixth in points (10), earning at least one point in eight of 12 games this season. - Aleksander Barkov is one goal away from passing Olli Jokinen's franchise record of 188.
  - MacKenzie Weegar ranks first on Florida in blocked shots (28) and second in hits (36).
  - Carter Verhaeghe has dished out four assists over his last four games.
  - Eetu Luostarinen has scored four goals in his last six contests, including two game-winners.
  - The Panthers need one more win for their 900th as a franchise.

PANTHERS LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Follow @JamesonCoop on Twitter for lineup updates later this afternoon.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

• Nov. 7: D Chase Priskie reassigned to Charlotte (AHL); D Lucas Carlsson recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
  - Nov. 6: F Sam Bennett placed on IR retroactive to Oct. 30; G Christopher Gibson recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
  - Nov. 3: F Maxim Mamin and D Chase Priskie recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
  - Oct. 31: F Zac Dalpe and D Chase Priskie reassigned to Charlotte (AHL) - Oct. 30: F Joe Thornton placed on IR; F Zac Dalpe recalled from Charlotte (AHL)

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HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When: Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where:Prudential Center - Newark, NJ
TV:N/A
Stream: Hulu, ESPN+
Radio:790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932