After going down 4-1 early in the second period against the New Jersey Devils, it looked like another blowout was coming for the Florida Panthers, one akin to the 6-3 beat-down the Carolina Hurricanes applied earlier this season. The Panthers looked disjointed, body language belying their likely mentality of, “Here we go again.” Instead, for the first time this season Florida managed to come back and win in regulation, scoring five unanswered goals on the beleaguered Cory Schneider and denying New Jersey its first win of the season.
After Jonathan Huberdeau opened the scoring in the first 16 seconds with his first of the season, the Devils scored two to give the Cats a deficit heading into the second period.