Panthers at Devils
The New Jersey Devils are fighting through their first bit of adversity this season and look to end a four-game winless streak when they host the Florida Panthers on Saturday. The Devils have picked up a pair of points during their skid, including one in a 3-2 overtime loss to Edmonton on Thursday, but have given up 16 goals in their last four contests while the Panthers are near the top of the league in scoring.
“It was a pretty good effort,” New Jersey's Brian Boyle told reporters Thursday after scoring his first goal of the season. “It’s still a work in progress. It’s November. We’ve still got a bunch of points. We need to get better. … I think everybody’s got the right mindset.” The Devils outshot an opponent for the first time in eight games Thursday and hope to do so again versus Florida, which snapped a five-game losing streak Friday with a 4-1 victory at Buffalo. The Panthers, who are last in the league in goals-against average (3.93), allowed fewer than two for just the second time this season on Friday in what Roberto Luongo called “probably” their best defensive game of the season. “There were no passengers on this team,” Luongo told the Sun Sentinel. “That’s what it takes to win in this league.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Florida, MSG Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (5-8-2): Despite their record, Florida has five players averaging more than a point per contest while Vincent Trocheck is riding a four-game goal-scoring streak that has raised his team-high total to eight. Jonathan Huberdeau registered three assists Friday to take over the team lead with 19 points and Aleksander Barkov notched two points to tie Trocheck at 17 while Evgenii Dadonov (16) added a goal and an assist. James Reimer (3-4-1, .890 save percentage), who sat out the last three games as Luongo returned from a hand injury, could be back in net for the second contest of a back-to-back set.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (9-4-2): Boyle, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in September, went 9-5 in the faceoff circles on Thursday and told MSG after scoring his first-period goal: “I’ve never cried after a goal before. That’s a great feeling. It’s everything.” Boyle can add offense among the bottom-six forwards to support the top lines as Taylor Hall leads the team with 17 points (12 assists) and Brian Gibbons has scored a club-best seven goals. Rookie Nico Hischier has been held without a goal in eight consecutive games while Adam Henrique has notched just one point in five contests this month.
OVERTIME
1. Florida D Aaron Ekblad has had a bounce-back season with eight points and a plus-8 rating after finishing at minus-23 in 2016-17.
2. The Devils are 0-for-11 on the power play this month but still were eighth in the league (21.6 percent) through Thursday.
3. The Panthers have won five straight against New Jersey, allowing just seven goals during that stretch.