Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Wes McCauley
Linesmen: James Tobias, Mitch Hunt
Attendance: 12157
Spencer Knight made 45 saves as the Florida Panthers continued their perfect home record this season, defeating the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Thursday night.
Florida is 9-0-0 at BB&T Center this season. The NHL record is 11 straight home wins to start a year. Dating to last season, the Panthers have won 13 straight home games and 20 of 21 overall.
The Panthers on Thursday were without Aleksander Barkov, their first-line center, captain and leading scorer who injured his knee in Florida's previous game.
Without Barkov, who is listed as week-to-week, the Panthers got one goal each from Carter Verhaeghe, Eetu Luostarinen, Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Duclair.
New Jersey got its goal from Dougie Hamilton, his fourth tally in six games.
But Devils starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood allowed four goals and was pulled in the second period. He made 23 stops before he was replaced by Jonathan Bernier.
New Jersey opened the scoring with 13:37 left in the first. After Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar lost his stick, New Jersey's Jimmy Vesey passed back to Hamilton, who squeezed the puck past Knight, banging it in off the (near) right post.
Florida tied the score with just seven seconds left in the first. Weegar got the assist, but Verhaeghe did almost all of the work. He carried the puck from his own zone all the way to the top of the left circle, where he ripped in a shot off the right post.
The Panthers took a 2-1 lead with 3:08 gone in the second on Luostarinen's rebound.
With 4:25 expired in the second, the Panthers took a 3-1 lead as Huberdeau blasted the puck over Blackwood's glove on a play that started with Weegar's puck-separating hit.
The Devils challenged the play, and even the Panthers broadcasters thought Huberdeau was clearly offsides. However, the officials saw it differently -- the goal stood, and the Panthers also got a power play.
Florida didn't score with the man advantage, but the Panthers went up 4-1 less than four minutes later as Duclair corralled a bouncing pass from Huberdeau and then scored from in close.
That goal -- with 8:15 expired in the second -- sent Blackwood to the showers.
--Field Level Media
| New Jersey | Florida | |
| Dougie Hamilton 1 | Points | Anthony Duclair 2 |
| Dougie Hamilton 1 | Goals | Anthony Duclair 1 |
| P.K. Subban 1 | Assists | Anthony Duclair 1 |
| N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
| N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
| Jonathan Bernier 1.000 | Save Percentage | Spencer Knight .978 |
| Mackenzie Blackwood 23 | Saves | Spencer Knight 45 |
| Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
| New Jersey | 46 | 1 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 6 | 28 |
| Florida | 41 | 4 | 0-2 | 3-3 | 8 | 21 |
- Florida will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Panthers have a W/L % of .818 after a win and .500 after a loss.
- New Jersey will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Devils have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .500 after a loss.