Devils at Panthers
The Florida Panthers begin defense of their Atlantic Division title without two key forwards Thursday when they host the New Jersey Devils in the season opener for both teams. Top-line left wing Jonathan Huberdeau (Achilles) is out 3-to-4 months and center Nick Bjugstad (broken hand) is lost for about four weeks as the Panthers lean more on a revamped defense in front of veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo.
“It’s unfortunate for us to lose two players like that,” Florida coach Gerard Gallant told reporters. “It’s part of our game, you have to move on and someone else gets the opportunity.” Jonathan Marchessault is expected to join veteran Jaromir Jagr and center Aleksander Barkov on the first line against the Devils, who will have a new look up front as well with the addition of scoring ace Taylor Hall. New Jersey made a six-point improvement under first-year coach John Hynes in 2015-16 and is primed to contend after missing the playoffs for four straight seasons. Perhaps the biggest reason the Devils can return to the postseason is goalie Cory Schneider, who boasts a 2.14 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in three years since being acquired from Vancouver.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), FSN Florida
ABOUT THE DEVILS (2015-16: 38-36-8, 7th in Metropolitan): Hall averaged 22 goals in six seasons with Edmonton before being dealt to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson in the offseason. Veteran Patrik Elias won’t be back and Lee Stempniak has moved on to Carolina, but the Devils return leading scorer Kyle Palmieri (57 points) and Mike Cammalleri, who had 14 goals to go along with 24 assists in 42 games last season before going down with a hand injury. New Jersey added defenseman Ben Lovejoy from Pittsburgh through free agency along with forward Vernon Fiddler to add experience.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (2015-16: 47-26-9, 1st in Atlantic): Florida moved out defensemen Erik Gudbranson, Willie Mitchell, Dmitry Kulikov and Brian Campbell while welcoming blue liners Keith Yandle, Jason Demers and Mark Pysyk in the offseason. Former first-overall pick Aaron Ekblad was extended for eight years as well and rookie Mike Matheson joins him in the top six. Not much was needed up front before the injuries as Jagr topped the team with 27 goals and 66 points while Jussi Jokinen, Barkov, Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith -- along with Huberdeau -- all reached the 50-point plateau.
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey C Pavel Zacha, a 19-year-old who was picked sixth overall in 2015, had two assists in his NHL debut last season and is expected in the lineup Thursday.
2. Luongo has 436 career victories and needs one to tie Jacques Plante for sixth on the all-time list while Jagr is one goal shy of 750.
3. The Devils claimed F P.A. Parenteau off waivers from the New York Islanders on Tuesday and added him to the roster.