Gustav Forsling scored twice, including the game-winner at 1:45 of overtime, as the Florida Panthers rallied from a four-goal deficit to defeat the New Jersey Devils 7-6 in overtime on Saturday.
Aleksander Barkov also netted two goals, while defensemen Radko Gudas, Ben Chiarot, and Brandon Montour each contributed goals for Florida, which secured its third consecutive victory. Spencer Knight stopped six shots, earning the win in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky, who was pulled after conceding six goals on 25 shots in the first two periods.
“We’re a pretty good team. We know we can come back in any game,” Barkov said. “We’re not going to do that every night, come back in the third from four behind, but we have a pretty good group to score four goals in a period.”
Yegor Sharangovich recorded his first career hat trick for New Jersey, while Jack Hughes, Janne Kuokkanen, and Andreas Johnsson also found the back of the net. In his Devils debut, Andrew Hammond allowed seven goals on 41 shots and took his first loss of the season. The Devils have now dropped eight of their last 11 games.
“You can’t feel comfortable when you know that team could score the way they do,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of the Panthers, who lead the NHL with 282 goals. “They’re the highest-scoring team in the league, and … sometimes you’ve got to make a real tough play under duress, and we didn’t make enough of them.”
The Devils held a 6-2 lead after two periods, bolstered by a four-goal second period that included two from Sharangovich, who completed his hat trick with a short-handed goal.
“That should be the story right now,” Devils defenseman Damon Severson said. “We should be talking about an unbelievable hat trick by (Sharangovich), a great game by him, a big win by us, and unfortunately, we’re talking about a great hat trick by him and a loss by us.”
However, the Panthers surged in the third period, outshooting New Jersey 23-5. Barkov scored twice with Knight pulled, tying the game with his second goal of the game and 33rd of the season with 1:24 left in regulation.
“He has been Mr. Clutch, and it seems to be growing,” Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said of Barkov. I think he’s such an instrumental piece to our group. He’s our leader and our captain, and I love that he’s rising up to the big moments because we’re going to need them going forward here.”
Forsling completed the dramatic comeback by beating Hammond at 1:45 of overtime. This marked Florida’s fourth comeback from a three-plus goal deficit this season, tying an NHL record.
“I think we’ve shown through the course of the season that we’re a very gritty team,” Brunette said. We have resilience and self-belief. We weren’t very good for almost 50 minutes, but I’m proud that the group of guys are never out of it.”
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
This was the second time this season that New Jersey scored at least six goals against Florida, previously doing so in a 7-3 home win on Nov. 9. It was also the ninth time this season that New Jersey scored at least six goals in a game.
INJURED PANTHERS
Florida forward Patric Hornqvist (undisclosed) missed his fourth straight game, and center Noel Acciari (upper-body injury) missed his second straight. Neither accompanied the Panthers on their road trip, which ends Sunday in Buffalo. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad (lower body) also missed his sixth straight game.
WELCOME BACK
Forward Anton Lundell returned to Florida’s lineup after missing the past 11 games with a lower-body injury. Lundell was injured during the first period of Florida’s 6-1 win in Buffalo on March 7 and played 13:39.
UP NEXT
- The Panthers will visit Buffalo for a matinee on Sunday.
- The Devils will host the New York Islanders on Sunday.
