New Jersey 4, Florida 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees:
Chris Rooney, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen:
Matt MacPherson, Libor Suchanek
Attendance:
17073
By Field Level Media
Jesper Bratt scored twice, and Yegor Sharangovich provided the go-ahead goal with 9:50 left in the third period as the New Jersey Devils ended their six-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the host Florida Panthers on Wednesday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 34 saves for his first win since Nov. 1. Teammate Dougie Hamilton added two assists, and Tomas Tatar had an empty-net goal.
It was Bratt's eighth career two-goal game. He has yet to record a hat trick in his career.
The Panthers got goals from Eric Staal and Eetu Luostarinen. Anton Lundell, who hadn't played since Dec. 1 due to an upper-body injury, added an assist after missing nine games.
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves.
New Jersey played without defenseman John Marino, who missed his first game due to an upper-body injury. To make matters worse for the Devils, defenseman Ryan Graves played just 63 seconds before leaving due to an apparent lower-body injury.
Florida opened the scoring with 15:15 left in the first. The Panthers got five shots on goal in six seconds, scoring on that last one by Staal, but only after Blackwood lost his stick. Staal took advantage, stuffing the puck past two Devils defensemen. Blackwood never saw Staal's shot.
New Jersey tied the score 1-1 on a power-play goal with 12:59 left in the first. It took just five seconds into that power play before Bratt scored on a one-timer from the right circle, beating Bobrovsky just inside the right post.
Florida took a 2-1 lead on Luostarinen's goal with just four seconds left on its power play. After Florida's first-team power play failed to score, Sam Bennett beat three Devils defenders to get a pass off to Luostarinen for his wrist shot. It was Luostarinen's first career power-play goal.
New Jersey tied the score 2-2 on Bratt's second goal, which came with 17:16 left in the third. After a Panthers giveaway, Bratt scored on the rush as his wrist shot beat Bobrovsky's glove.
The Devils took their first lead on Sharongovich's wicked deflection, which took a bad bounce past Bobrovsky.
New Jersey added Tatar's empty-net goal with 40 seconds left.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| New Jersey |
|
Florida |
|
Jesper Bratt 2 |
Points |
Eetu Luostarinen 1 |
|
Jesper Bratt 2 |
Goals |
Eetu Luostarinen 1 |
|
Dougie Hamilton 2 |
Assists |
Sam Bennett 1 |
|
Jesper Bratt 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Eetu Luostarinen 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Mackenzie Blackwood .944 |
Save Percentage |
Sergei Bobrovsky .906 |
|
Mackenzie Blackwood 34 |
Saves |
Sergei Bobrovsky 29 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| New Jersey
|
33 |
4 |
1-3 |
0-1 |
17 |
26 |
| Florida
|
36 |
2 |
1-1 |
2-3 |
41 |
27 |
Upcoming Games
-
Florida will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Panthers have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .632 after a loss.
-
New Jersey will play their next game at home against Boston. The Devils have a W/L % of .773 after a win and .455 after a loss.
For more information, contact us