Spencer Knight made a career-high 45 saves, helping the Florida Panthers secure a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
The Panthers extended their home regular-season win streak to 13 games, dating back to last season.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Duclair each contributed a goal and an assist, while Eetu Luostarinen and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, who remain undefeated at home with a 9-0-0 record.
“Any goalie will tell you it’s more fun when you face more shots,” Knight said.
The Panthers’ 13 consecutive home regular-season wins tie them for the 20th-longest streak in NHL history, matching Toronto’s streak from Jan. 31 to March 24, 2018. Florida’s previous best home win streak was an eight-game run from Feb. 22 to March 10, 2018.
“We emphasized playing well at home,” Duclair said. “We want to put in an honest effort every time we play here and keep it going.”
Florida has scored at least four goals in 11 games this season.
Dougie Hamilton scored for the Devils.
Mackenzie Blackwood allowed four goals on 27 shots before being replaced by Jonathan Bernier with 11:45 left in the second period.
Knight faced 22 shots in the first period alone.
“They came at us and figured they would,” said Florida interim coach Andrew Brunette. “We were just probably a little slow reacting. Spencer was unbelievable, and then we got our legs going.”
After the score was tied at 1, the Panthers took control with two goals in 1:17 from Luostarinen and Huberdeau by 4:25 of the second period, putting them ahead 3-1. Duclair’s goal at 8:15 extended the lead to 4-1 and prompted Blackwood’s exit.
“We had a lot of chances, a lot of shots on goal, the puck just didn’t go in,” said Devils captain Nico Hischier.
Hamilton’s shot off the post gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 13:37 of the first period, but the Panthers responded with Verhaeghe’s goal with 6.4 seconds left in the period.
“We had one of the fastest periods we’ve had all year,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “We could have had three goals in the first 10 minutes. If you don’t take advantage of those situations, you let a team hang around.”
Game Notes
- D Damon Severson played in his 500th career game, all with the Devils.
- LW Fabian Zetterlund made his NHL debut.
- The Panthers were without C Aleksander Barkov (knee), week-to-week after being injured Tuesday against the New York Islanders.
- The teams won’t meet again until Florida visits New Jersey on April 2.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
- Panthers: Host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
