The strong start to the season by the Florida Panthers suddenly seems like a long time ago. Florida dropped their third straight game on Thursday night, losing 3-1 to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark. For the first time since they left South Florida, the Panthers were able to score the game’s first goal and simultaneously take their first lead of the road trip. Coming out of Florida’s zone, Seth Jones made a nice lead pass to Brad Marchand, who made a nice move in the Devils end after crossing the blue line, cutting to the middle of the ice and firing a shot on Jake Allen. The rebound tricked out to Allen’s right where Evan Rodrigues was there to slam the puck home and give Florida a 1-0 lead at the 1:59 mark of the first period. It’s a lead that would stick for more than a period, until Rodrigues was called for tripping Jack Hughes five minutes into the second. Hughes would score on the ensuing power play, ripping a shot over Daniil Tarasov after the goaltender dropped down as Hughes made his way to the bottom of the left faceoff circle. With the goaltender suddenly down, Hughes found an opening under the crossbar and tied the game at one. The tie score held until the 6:23 mark of the third period, when a deflection by Timo Meier squeaked past Tarasov, who was having an amazing game by the way, to give the Devils their first lead of the game. Nico Hischier made it 3-1 Devils when he took advantage of a failed clear by Florida. With both defenseman moving in the wrong direction after the broken play, the puck found its way to Hischier in the slot, and he beat Tarasov over the glove to double New Jersey’s lead. Tarasov finished with 31 saves, including stops on all eight of the high danger shots sent his way by the Devils. The Panthers have now scored a total of four goals over their three-game losing streak. Florida’s road trip has two stops remaining, with games against the Sabes on Saturday and the Bruins on Tuesday. On to Buffalo. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Challenging road trip continues as Panthers visit New Jersey looking to avoid third straight loss [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/challenging-road-trip-continues-as-panthers-visit-new-jersey-looking-to-avoid-third-straight-loss\] Panthers lose second straight, come up short against Red Wings in Detroit [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-lose-second-straight-come-up-short-against-red-wings-in-detroit] Panthers Claim Senators Defenseman Off Waivers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-claim-senators-defenseman-off-waivers] Panthers Veteran Defenseman To Miss Five Months With Labral Tear [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-veteran-defenseman-to-miss-five-months-with-labral-tear] Mackie Samoskevich promoted to Florida Panthers top forward line [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/mackie-samoskevich-promoted-to-florida-panthers-top-forward-line] Photo caption: Oct 16, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Ondrej Palat (18) hits Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) during the first period at Prudential Center. (Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images)
