Panthers Down Devils

     The Florida Panthers breezed by the New Jersey Devils 5-3 on Tuesday night at Prudential Center. Panthers goalie Sam Montembeault made his first NHL start since November 24. The Panthers are now 2-4-1 in their last seven games while the Devils are 3-1-3 in their last seven contests.
     New Jersey(20-25-10) got up 1-0 with the man advantage at the 3:15 mark of the first period. Wayne Simmonds pushed the puck back from the left corner to Jack Hughes on the left point. He slid a pass to the top of the zone to Damon Severson. He returned it back to Hughes for a wrist shot from the left circle.
     Florida(30-20-6) tied it 1-1 with 8:10 remaining in the first. Mike Hoffman backhanded a pass from center ice to his left. Vincent Trocheck brought the puck to the above the top left circle and connected a cross-ice pass to Brett Connolly. His snap shot from the right circle beat Louis Domingue for his 18th goal of the season. It was his second tally in the last 14 games.
     The Cats took the lead with 45.4 seconds to go in the frame. Severson lost the puck to Mark Pysyk in the right corner and he flicked a sharp-angle shot that went off the skate of Noel Acciari. Mike Matheson followed with a forehand shot from the low slot.
     The Panthers scored three goals in a 3:15 span during the second period. Pysyk expnaded their lead to 3-1 when Pysyk scored on assists by Matheson and Acciari at 2:43.
     The Devils kept it close with a tally by Kevin Rooney at 4:17 and they trailed 3-2. Frank Vatrano  of the Panthers got his 15th goal of the campaign from the top right circle near the five-minute mark with assists from Keith Yandle and Colton Sceviour.
     Florida made it a three-goal gap 5-2 at the 5:38 mark. Matheson released a wrist shot from the left wing that glanced off Pysyk in the crease area. Acciari tapped the puck into the cage from the top of the crease.
     New Jersey scored with 5:30 left in the second period. Will Butcher sent a lead pass through the neutral zone. Kyle Palmieri split the defense in the Panthers zone and put in a forehand shot from the low slot for his  21st goal.