NEWARK, N.J. _ Just when it looked like the New Jersey Devils were on track for their first win of the season, they blew another lead and lost their sixth game of the season.
At this point, the Devils' biggest foe may well be themselves. New Jersey blew a 4-1 lead to the Florida Panthers and lost 6-4 on Monday afternoon at Prudential Center.
Pavel Zacha had his first career three-point night, Taylor Hall found the back of the net for the first time this season and goalie Cory Schneider gave the Devils a chance when the Panthers mounted a furious rally in the second period, but New Jersey couldn't withstand a big push by Florida when the tide turned.
At 9:50 in the second period, just seven seconds after the Devils killed off a penalty, Brett Connolly launched a one-timer from the high slot to make it 4-2 and the entire game changed. The rest of the second period was played on the New Jersey end of the ice, and with eight seconds left, Connolly beat Schneider top-shelf.
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) hits the post with a shot during the second period of their game against the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center.
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) hits the post with a shot during the second period of their game against the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center. (Photo: Ed Mulholland, Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)
Mackenzie Weegar tied it 30 seconds into the third period and then set up Noel Acciari for the go-ahead. A high-sticking double-minor by Jesper Boqvist allowed Evgenii Dadonov to make it 6-4 at 15:33. It was the 10th power play allowed by the Devils in 22 attempts.
Sergei Bobrovsky won his seventh straight decision against the Devils. ... Cory Schneider played in his 400th NHL game and his 302nd with New Jersey, tying Chris Terreri for second place in the Devils' all-time games played list by a goaltender. He's 957 behind Martin Brodeur for the lead. ... Zacha recorded his 14th career multi-point game and his seventh multi-assist game with two assists in the first period. ... Nikita Gusev recorded his first NHL assist with the secondary assist on Bratt's goal. ... The Devils scratched John Hayden, Kevin Rooney and Mirco Mueller. Matt Tennyson played his first NHL game of the year and Jesper Boqvist played in his second.
The Devils will host their Hudson River rivals Thursday night when they face the Rangers for the first time this season. The two top picks in the draft, Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, will match up against one another for the first time.
