Panthers 3, Devils 2
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jonathan Huberdeau scored two goals, and behind a strong defensive effort, the Florida Panthers earned a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night at the BB&T Center.
Huberdeau, who extended his goal streak to four games, stuffed the game-winning goal from close range through Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid early in the third period off assists from right winger Jaromir Jagr and defenseman Brian Campbell.
The Panthers (43-25-9) tied the franchise record for wins in a season set in 1999-2000 and their 95 points now put this year's team second in franchise history, surpassing the 2011-12 division champion squad.
More importantly for the current Panthers, the two points put them tow in front of Tampa Bay for the Atlantic Division lead after the Lightning lost to Montreal on Thursday.
The Devils (37-33-8) have any remaining playoff aspirations dwindling as they now have four games remaining and didn't gain any ground after entering action seven points behind the idle Philadelphia Flyers for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.
Aleksander Barkov forehanded an insurance goal with just over two minutes remaining off a crisp pass from Jagr. The Devils pulled within one when left winger Blake Pietila scored off a rebound but it was too little, too late as it came with 5.7 seconds remaining.
Although Kinkaid saved 37 of the 39 shots against him, Al Montoya came away victorious in the battle of backup goalies with 14 of his 23 saves coming in the third period. The Panthers were outshooting the Devils 29-10 through two periods.
The Devils scored first 8:30 into the action with a power-play goal from Mike Sislo on a wrist shot from the left circle. Adam Henrique earned his 200th career point with the secondary assist on the goal that Devante Smith-Pelly also assisted on.
Huberdeau tied it up 7:57 into the second period with his 17th goal of the season as he worked the puck around and behind Kinkaid on a breakaway. He was assisted by Shawn Thornton and Aaron Ekblad.
New Jersey stays in Florida to visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night while Florida stays home to battle the Montreal Canadiens.
NOTES: Panthers C Vincent Trocheck, who is tied for the team lead with a career-high 25 goals, will miss the remainder of the regular season after fracturing a bone in his left foot blocking a shot in Tuesday night's loss to Toronto. Florida recalled C Rocco Grimaldi from Portland of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. ... Devils LW Patrik Elias (knee), who has not played since Dec. 19, traveled with the team to Florida but did not play Thursday. ... Devils G Cory Schneider is expected to return Saturday against Tampa Bay. He has not played since March 4 when he sprained the MCL in his right knee. ... Panthers D Erik Gudbranson (foot) returned to the lineup after missing the last seven games. ... Florida's scratches in addition to Trocheck were D Alex Petrovic, LW Garrett Wilson, C Greg McKegg and RW Logan Shaw. ... Devils C Tyler Kennedy returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury. ... New Jersey's scratches were D David Schlemko, C Jacob Josefson, RW Tuomo Ruutu and D Vojtech Mozik.