The New Jersey Devils defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 in their home opener at Prudential Center on Thursday night. The Panthers, who have won the last two Stanley Cup championships, took an early lead with a goal from Evan Rodrigues less than two minutes into the game. The Devils responded with goals from Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Nico Hischier.
Meier scored the go-ahead goal at 6:23 in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie. Reflecting on the team’s style of play, Meier said, “That’s where we can take advantage of teams. We get them tired then we get our skilled guys out there, make those plays and make stuff happen.”
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe had focused on improving the performance of the line consisting of Ondrej Palat, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt during practice. The line responded by creating several scoring opportunities against Florida.
Jack Hughes scored a power-play goal, capitalizing on a goaltending move by Florida’s Daniil Tarasov. Hughes explained, “I was just going through my reads. You can’t do that shot all the time just because the goalies have a read on me, that I like shooting there. Sometimes when I see it, I can definitely pick that spot.”
Jesper Bratt recorded his 300th career assist during the game, placing him 10th in franchise history for assists and just behind Aaron Broten for ninth place.
Another highlight was a play between Dawson Mercer and Nico Hischier. Mercer dove to poke the puck away from a Panthers player to Hischier, who then scored to secure the win.
The Devils’ penalty kill was effective, stopping all five Florida power plays. Goaltender Allen commented on the team’s defensive performance: “I think our kill has been getting a little more cohesive as the games have gone on. With Brad Shaw coming in and the new systems he’s adopted, I think he’s been great keeping the guys very detailed instructions on our jobs. The penalty kill is all about predictability, buying in and sacrifice. It’s not always going to go your way but the guys are doing a great job.”
Meier added, “Not the start we wanted but over the (course of the) game we got better. We came out in the third (period) and took over.”
The Devils will next play the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center on Saturday afternoon.
