Both clubs will meet each other again in the same venue on Thursday night. It is a rare situation set up by the National Hockey League for financial reasons.
The Panthers remained first in the Atlantic Division. The Devils were able to leap into first place inside the Metropolitan Division.
New Jersey(11-6-2) reached out to a 1-0 lead at the 8:30 mark of the opening frame. Jack Hughes released a one-time slap shot from the low right circle for his eighth goal of the 2024-25 season following assists from Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton. Hughes was able to chalk up his 300th NHL point in his 325th career game, which is the fastest done in Devils franchise history passing Kirk Muller who did it in 332 contests.
In the second period, Florida(11-4-1) tied it up 1-1 on the power play at 8:41. Aleksander Barkov passed form the right wing. Uvis Balinskis took a shot from the right point and Sam Reinhart redirected it from the slot area for his 12th goal of the campaign. Aleksander Barkov was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
The Devils reclaimed the lead 2-1 with 2:31 remaining in the second. Dawson Mercer fed the puck from the neutral zone and Timo Meier placed a snap shot from the high slot by Spencer Knight for his seventh tally this year.
New Jersey extended their lead to 3-1 with 4:53 to go in the third period. Nico Hischier entered the Panthers zone and angles a pass to his left from the high slot. Paul Cotter scored his seventh goal this season on a wrist shot from the left-circle dot. Hamilton collected his second assist on the sequence. Ondrej Palat added an empty-net goal with 1:02 left in the third for a 4-1 advantage.
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