Panthers at Devils
The Florida Panthers hope to get a boost from an inspiring comeback last time out and build their first winning streak of the season when they visit the New Jersey Devils for a Saturday matinee. The Panthers rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie the host New York Islanders on Wednesday before Mike Hoffman’s overtime goal gave them a 3-2 victory and at least a point for the fourth time in five games.
“This team was desperate for a win and (to) get rewarded for some of the good things we’ve done,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told reporters. “I loved to see the fight when we were down. We didn’t change our game; if anything, we turned it up a notch. That’s a good sign for a coach to see out of his players.” The Panthers have won two straight and seven of the last eight contests in the series against the Devils, who are looking to end a three-game slide (0-2-1) after dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to Nashville on Thursday. “The objective here is to get two points all the time, but we had not played well our prior two games,” New Jersey coach John Hynes told reporters. “We addressed certain areas. I thought we took a step in the right direction (Thursday). … Now we need to be able to build off this game.” Palmieri had three assists Thursday and leads the Devils with 11 points while reigning Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall is riding a six-game point streak.
TV: Noon ET, FS Florida, MSG (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (2-3-3): Hoffman, acquired in the offseason after parts of seven years with Ottawa, was held off the scoresheet in the first two games of the campaign before notching one point in each of the last six - including goals in the past three. Hoffman shares the team lead in goals (four) with fellow forward Evgenii Dadonov, who tops Florida with nine points - six during a five-game streak. Defenseman Mark Pysyk (upper-body) is questionable after missing three games and veteran goalie Roberto Luongo, who suffered a knee injury on opening night, will make the trip to Helsinki, Finland, for two games after Saturday but is still considered week-to-week.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (4-2-1): Center Nico Hischier, who had 20 goals as a rookie last season after being the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, has turned it up with his first three tallies of 2018-19 in the last three games - two against Nashville. “You could see he had a little more jump in his step and he was really tenacious on the puck,” Hynes told reporters Thursday. “He was winning a lot of puck battles. He’s finally getting rewarded now for going to the net and going to those areas.” New Jersey owns at least one power-play goal in every game this season and has registered nine - four from Palmieri, two each from Hischier and Brian Boyle - in 31 opportunities overall.
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey G Cory Schneider (hip) was scheduled to play his third rehab game for Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Friday.
2. The Panthers are 6-for-24 on the power play in the last five games after going 0-for-12 in the first three of the season.
3. Devils D Damon Severson has goals in back-to-back games and one point in six of the first seven contests of 2018-19.