In Sunrise, the Panthers won their ninth straight home game, in a 4-1 decision over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Spencer Knight made 45 saves in the Panthers win, a career high.
“Any goalie will tell you it’s more fun when you face more shots,” Knight said.
Dougie Hamilton gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead in the first period, and that ended the offense for the night.
“We had a lot of chances, a lot of shots on goal, the puck just didn’t go in,” New Jersey’s Nico Hischier said.
New Jersey dropped to 7-5-3.
“He’s been solid all year,” Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said of Knight. “Got thrown into a tough situation [that night]. I had full confidence he was going to be good tonight. He wasn’t just good, he was great.”
Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Duclair had a goal and two points each for the Panthers.
“We put an emphasis on playing well at home,” Duclair said. “We want to put an honest effort every time we play here, and we want to keep it going here at home.”
Eetu Luostarinen gace Florida a 2-1 lead in the middle frame.
“[Knight] bailed us out in the first,” Duclair said. “Obviously that’s now how we want to play. That’s not Panthers hockey there. In the second and third, that’s exactly how we want to play.”
Carter Verhaeghe tied the game in the first period.
“We had one of the fastest periods we’ve had all year,” New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff said. “We could have had three goals. If you don’t take advantage of those situations, we let a team hang around.”
Mackenzie Blackwood got the start for New Jersey and made 21 saves, he was given the hook near the midway point of the second period.
Jonathan Bernier made 16 saves through the last half of the game.
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