The Florida Panthers (3-2) will do battle with the New Jersey Devils (2-1) tonight at The Rock in Newark, marking the third tilt of five-game road trip that has gotten off to tough start for the two-time defending champions.
Los Gatos could only muster up 21 shots and a single tally in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings last night. Brad Marchand was the only lamp-lighter, halving the deficit with 4:55 remaining in the second period with a wrap-around goal after Anton Lundell won an offensive zone faceoff. The goal extended the point streaks of each of those two players to four games. The 37-year-old Marchand has found the back of the net in each of Florida’s last three contests. It’s high time for others to step up.
After dropping its season-opener to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils posted back-to-back victories over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets to complete a three-game road trip with a winning record. Dawson Mercer scored twice to lift New Jersey to a 3-2 decision over the Blue Jackets on Monday. Number one keeper Jacob Markstrom is expected to miss a couple of weeks because of a lower-body injury, so veteran backup Jake Allen will get the call to man the pipes for tonight’s home-opener.
- WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, MSGSN
- ON THE DIAL: 104.3 WQAM (D/B), 106.3 West Palm (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #NJDevils, #FLAvsNJD, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: All About The Jersey
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3
- LAST MEETING: FLA 2, @NJD 1 (SO) (Recap) – 1/14/2025
- NEXT MEETING: November 20, 2025
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Tarasov (0-1-0 .850 / 3.11 0SO) New Jersey: Allen (0-0-0 .958 / 1.50 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / New Jersey
Thursday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- New York Rangers (2-3-0 4P) at TORONTO (2-2-0 4P) 7 p.m.
- Nashville (2-1-1 5P) at MONTREAL (3-1-0 6P) 7 p.m.
- Seattle (2-0-1 5P) at OTTAWA (1-3-0 2P) 7 p.m.
- BOSTON (3-1-0 6P) at Vegas (2-0-2 6P) 10 p.m.
Idle: DET (6P), TBL (4P), BUF (2P)