Devils 4, Panthers 2
NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils ended their four-game home winless streak win a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday at the Prudential Center.
Florida (13-10-4) entered the night with a five-game winning streak. The Panthers concluded a 4-1-0 road trip.
New Jersey (14-10-3) received goals from right wingers Lee Stempniak and Kyle Palmieri and left wingers Adam Henrique and Mike Cammalleri. Henrique and defenseman Damon Severson each registered two assists.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and left winger Jonathan Huberdeau scored for the Panthers.
Florida right winger Jaromir Jagr, who recorded two assists, needs one goal for 731 to tie Marcel Dionne for fourth place on the all-time NHL list. His next chance will come at home against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
Jagr, 43, is with his eighth NHL team. He was making his first trip back to New Jersey since the Devils traded him to the Panthers on Feb. 26 last season.
Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who appeared in his 886th game, tying Hall of Famer Tony Esposito for seventh all time. He stopped 14 shots.
Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, who served as Luongo's backup for five seasons when they were teammates on the Vancouver Canucks, made 34 saves.
Huberdeau's third goal of the season drew Florida to within 3-2 at 13:07 of the second on assists from Jagr and Ekblad. However, Huberdeau's penalty shot attempt was thwarted by a pad save from Schneider four minutes later.
Huberdeau was upended by Devils defenseman Adam Larsson as he skated in alone on goal, leading to the penalty shot.
New Jersey moved ahead 3-1 on Henrique's wrap-around goal from Larsson at 3:43 of the second. It was Henrique's team-leading 13th of the season.
Florida cut the Devils' lead to 2-1 only 45 seconds into the second period when Ekblad's slap shot trickled through Schneider's pads from the top of the right circle. Jagr and center Aleksander Barkov received the assists.
The Panthers allowed just one goal in each of their four previous games, but Luongo gave up two in the first period.
Stempniak gave the Devils a quick 1-0 lead, scoring on a back-hander just 26 seconds into the game. Stempniak received the puck from Cammalleri behind the net and lifted it for his sixth goal of the season.
Palmieri skated into the Panthers' zone unscathed and sent a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle for his 11th goal and a 2-0 New Jersey edge at 12:55 of the first period.
Cammalleri's 11th goal at 6:44 of the third gave the Devils a two-goal cushion.
NOTES: Florida LW Shawn Thornton, who leads the team in penalty minutes with 35, was a healthy scratch. ... D Alex Petrovic missed his fifth game with a foot injury for the Panthers. ... Florida activated D Dmitry Kulikov from the injured reserve list. ... Devils C Travis Zajac is out with an upper-body injury. ... D Jon Merrill and RW Bobby Farnham were healthy scratches for the Devils. Eric Gelinas replaced Merrill on the backline and Brian O'Neill replaced Farnham on New Jersey's fourth line. ... The Panthers ended a five-game road trip, their second longest trip of the season.