NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Timo Meier and Nico Hischier scored in the third period and Jake Allen made 21 saves as the New Jersey Devils won their home opener 3-1 over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
Meier beat Florida netminder Daniil Tarasov with his team-best third goal of the season at 6:23, snapping a 1-all tie before Hischier added his second of the season at 11:47.
Jack Hughes also scored for New Jersey, which won its third straight game after a season-opening loss at Carolina.
Florida’s Evan Rodrigues opened the scoring 1:59 into the game, tapping a loose puck past Allen for his second goal of the season.
Hughes knotted the contest with his first at 5:48 of the second, with assists to Meier and Jesper Bratt. The assist was the 300th of Bratt’s career. Hughes was limited to 62 games last season during which he scored 27 goals for the second straight year.
Allen won for the first time this season. The Devils were coming off Monday’s 3-2 win at Columbus, when starting netminder Jacob Markstrom was injured. Markstrom will miss a few weeks with a lower-body injury.
Tarasov, who joined the Panthers in a late June trade from Columbus, was seeking his first win with Florida.
The 26-year-old Tarasov made a number of sharp saves, denying Hughes three times in the closing minutes of the second. He also denied Lucas Glendening on a breakaway early in the second. Tarasov made 30 saves overall.
The Panthers failed on five power-play chances as they lost their third straight on the road after starting the season with three straight home wins.
The Panthers are missing key players, including captain Aleksander Barkov, who is out seven-to-nine months with a knee injury. Matthew Tkachuk is also out and will miss at least two months with a torn adductor muscle. Florida is also missing forward Tomas Nosek and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.
Up next
Devils: Host Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Panthers: Visit Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
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