The Florida Panthers, struggling through a three-game losing streak and slipping in the wild-card race, found a much-needed spark from an unlikely source.
Their boost came from a unique fourth line, humorously dubbed the “helicopter line” because it featured a center playing alongside two defensemen, leaving them without traditional wings.
Mike Matheson, Mark Pysyk, and Noel Acciari each scored and contributed a combined eight points, leading the Panthers to a 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
“The way that line played tonight, more lines have to follow that,” said Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman. “They went in working hard, doing the right things, playing on the right side of the puck, and keeping it simple. Shooting, winning battles. They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, and that’s what we need.”
Florida coach Joel Quenneville, whose team had managed just five goals over its previous four games, was pleased with the makeshift line’s performance.
“I don’t know if I would call it a fourth line,” he said. “They were better than that.”
Quenneville had intended to get Matheson back into the lineup after he was a healthy scratch on Monday. Pysyk was informed earlier in the day that he might play forward because another player was feeling under the weather. Acciari centered the line.
“I looked at it as we’ll be a shutdown line,” Acciari joked. “We have four D out there, and I was the honorary D, so make it five D out there. It was huge for our team. It was a bonus. I think we complemented each other out there. All three goals came from gritty areas, and that’s where they will come from.”
Frank Vatrano and Brett Connolly also scored as the Panthers snapped their skid, winning only the second time (2-4-1) since returning from the All-Star break. Sam Montembeault made 25 saves in his first start since Nov. 24.
Jack Hughes, Kevin Rooney, and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils, who saw their season-high six-game (3-0-3) point streak come to an end. Louis Domingue stopped 28 shots in place of MacKenzie Blackwood, who had recorded shutouts in his last two starts.
“They didn’t look like defensemen out there to me,” Palmieri said of the Panthers’ unconventional line. “Obviously, that’s their position, but they played well. They were hard on the pucks, and the offense they generated was how you want to generate offense.”
Matheson, who now has eight goals along with Pysyk, gave Florida the lead late in the first period, scoring on a rebound to make it 2-1.
Pysyk, who had a hat trick against Toronto last week, extended the lead to 3-1 early in the second period with a close-range shot set up by Matheson.
Rooney cut the deficit to one with a goal off a giveaway at 4:17, but Florida responded with two goals in 39 seconds to push the lead to 5-2. Vatrano scored from the right circle at 4:59, and Acciari added his 19th of the season with a wrist shot from the slot at 5:38.
Palmieri brought the Devils back within two at 5-3 with 5:30 left in the second period. New Jersey had a chance to get closer less than a minute later when Hughes broke in alone, but Montembeault made a crucial pad save.
“It was my first start in a while, so obviously, I was a little nervous initially, but I felt better as the game went on,” Montembeault said. “It’s easier as a goalie when you have a lead like that.”
Game Notes:
- Connolly’s goal ended the Devils’ shutout streak at 147 minutes, 15 seconds.
- Former Devil Brian Boyle missed his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury.
- Devils C Nico Hischier and D Sami Vatanen each missed their fourth straight game with lower-body injuries.
- On Matheson’s goal, the fourth line kept the puck in the Devils’ zone for more than 90 seconds, attempting seven shots, with four being blocked.
- Hughes’ last goal came on Dec. 29.
- The Devils held their annual Black Hockey History Month night during the game.
- Devils F Joey Anderson notched his first point of the season.
UP NEXT:
- Panthers: Return home to host Philadelphia on Thursday.
- Devils: Conclude their three-game homestand against Detroit on Thursday.
