NEWARK, N.J. — Anton Lundell delivered the decisive goal in the shootout, leading the Florida Panthers to a narrow 2-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Spencer Knight showcased a solid performance in goal, registering 26 saves throughout the match.
The shootout began with Florida’s Aleksander Barkov and New Jersey’s Paul Cotter both finding the back of the net in the initial rounds. However, in the third round, Lundell was able to outmaneuver Devils’ goaltender Jacob Markstrom, thus halting New Jersey’s impressive six-game winning streak at home.
In a match that saw no goals scored in the first two periods, Jesper Boqvist opened the scoring for Florida early in the third period, netting his 10th goal of the season just 41 seconds in. Boqvist previously spent four seasons with the Devils after being selected by the team in the first round of the 2017 draft. He was aided by contributions from Carter Verhaeghe and Nate Schmidt on the play.
The Devils quickly responded, with captain Nico Hischier equalizing the game at the 2:27 mark of the third, marking his 20th goal of the season, assisted by Nathan Bastian and Timo Meier. Jacob Markstrom, the Devils’ goaltender, finished the night with 27 saves.
New Jersey was looking to build on their recent success, which included an overtime win at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, following a less favorable 1-4-1 stretch on the road. On the other hand, Florida was eager to bounce back after a 4-3 defeat to Philadelphia just a night earlier. With this victory, the Panthers positioned themselves just one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs in the competitive Atlantic Division.
Key takeaways from the match highlight that New Jersey has improved significantly with a record of 19-10-3 since suffering a 3-0 defeat to Calgary on November 1. For Florida, this win marks their first triumph against the Devils this season, having previously faced defeats in both encounters at home back in November.
A pivotal moment in the game occurred when Knight made a crucial save against Hischier with under eight minutes remaining in the third period, preserving the tie and maintaining the tension as the match progressed.
Looking at the statistics, Hischier has managed to hit the 20-goal mark in each of his last four seasons, achieving this milestone five times in total since the Devils drafted him first overall in 2017.
As the teams prepare for their upcoming matches, the Devils will head to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Thursday night, while the Panthers will host the Detroit Red Wings also on Thursday night.
