RECAP: Devils 5, Panthers 1

NEWARK, N.J. – With limited margin for error, the Florida Panthers saw their losing streak reach three games with a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Falling to 30-28-3, the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions now sit 10 points out of the second-wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 21 games left to play.

Starting to finally get healthy, the Panthers know they need to turn a corner quickly.

"You cannot look at the math,” said forward Tomas Nosek, who made his season debut after working his way back from offseason surgery. “When you start looking at the math, you're gone. You need to just focus on next game and win the next game. That's all there is."

Standing tall early in the first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made several key saves, including a pair of nearly identical stops on Timo Meier and Paul Cotter on driving shots from in front.

Finally breaking the ice for the Devils, Arseny Gritsyuk kept the puck on a 2-on-1 rush and ripped a shot over Bobrovsky’s blocker and into the top of the cage to make it 1-0 at 12:10.

Responding for the Panthers, Anton Lundell -- moments after Florida’s power play had expired -- backhanded a bouncing puck past Jacob Markstrom to make it 1-1 at 14:37.

With the goal, Lundell recorded the 200^th point of his NHL career.

“We’ve asked a lot of him,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Lundell, who’s taken on an increased role this season in the absence of injured captain Aleksander Barkov. “One of the things he’s learning is the unusual level of fatigue that comes in the number one hole when you’re [on the] power play, penalty kill. Good for him scoring again. That may be the thing that comes out of him, that he believes he can put pucks to the net. We believe there’s offense there.”

Putting the Devils back on top in the second period, Dougie Hamilton grabbed a bounce off the boards after a missed shot from Jack Hughes and sent the puck into the cage to make it 2-1 at 1:35. Later, Cody Glass tipped in a shot to extend New Jersey’s lead to 3-1 at 8:13.

In the third period, the Devils shut the door.

Holding the Panthers to just two shots on goal over the final 20 minutes, Dawson Mercer and Simon Nemec each potted empty-net goals to lock in the 5-1 win for the Devils.

Bobrovsky finished with 28 saves for Florida, while Markstrom stopped 20 of 21 shots.

Keeping the Panthers in the fight, Bobrovsky made eight high-danger saves.

“We had a tough one tonight,” Maurice said. “Sergei was good. Our goaltending was good. We got behind in the game. We were having a hard time generating, so we tried to do a whole bunch of different ways that weren’t particularly effective.”

THEY SAID IT

“It’s been a long six months. I’m just so happy to be back in the locker room and around the guys.” – Tomas Nosek on making his long-awaited season debut

"There's a certain way we move the puck, with an attitude coming into the offensive line, that I think we've gotten away from." – Paul Maurice on what the Panthers need to do to improve

CATS STATS

- Anton Lundell is the fifth player from the 2020 NHL Draft to reach 200 career points.

- The Panthers led 11-9 in high-danger shot attempts at 5-on-5.

- Florida led 9-5 in shots on goal at 5-on-5 when Uvis Balinskis was deployed.

- Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 10 shots he faced in the third period.

- A.J. Greer (7) and Sandis Vilmanis (5) combined for 12 hits.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will kick off a crucial back-to-back to end their road trip with a matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

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