SUNRISE, Fla. — Jesper Bratt scored twice and Yegor Sharangovich had the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period as the New Jersey Devils beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 Wednesday night to snap a six-game skid.
Tomas Tatar added an empty-netter and Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 34 saves for the Devils, who were 0-5-1 since a win at home against Chicago on Dec. 6.
“It feels great to win, the boys have been playing hard and deserved a better result in the games we played,” said Blackwood, who was making his first start since Nov. 3 due to a knee injury. “It gets a little difficult when you pile up a couple losses in a row. Sometimes guys grip their stick a little too tight, panic. We did a good job playing the right way.”
Eric Staal and Eetu Luostarinen had goals for Florida, which has lost two straight and five of seven. Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 29 saves.
Jesper Bratt (center) is congratulated by teammates after scoring his second goal of the game in the Devils’ 4-2 win over the Panthers. APBratt tied the score 2-2 with his second of the night and 12th of the season at 2:44 of the third.
Sharangovich put the Devils ahead for the first time in the game at 10:10 as he deflected a shot from Jonas Siegenthaler for his ninth.
Tatar capped it with his empty-netter with 39.1 seconds remaining. It was his eighth.
Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 33 saves, stops Zac Dalpe’s shot during the Devils’ victory. USA TODAY Sports“We needed a win,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. “We played several pretty good games inside of this and couldn’t find the back of the net. To come out, get a couple goals in the third … it was important.”
Staal gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 4:45 of the first period with his third of the season and second goal in two games.
Bratt tied it at 7:01, just 5 seconds into New Jersey’s first power-play chance.
Luostarinen gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead on a power play at with 3:48 left in the second period.
“We had to finish some plays around their net for sure,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We did not move the puck the way we wanted to but they do not give you much. We actually got more than that usually give in a game like that.”






