SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots, Sam Reinhart scored in the opening period and the Florida Panthers beat the New Jersey Devils 1-0 on Thursday night.
It was Florida’s first 1-0 regulation win in the regular season since Dec. 23, 2017, against Ottawa. The Panthers had a 1-0 overtime win at Columbus last season.
Bobrovsky has 51 shutouts, tied for 28th in NHL history. The Devils were blanked for the first time this season, wasting a 23-save effort from Jake Allen.
Reinhart collected the puck around the blue line, got around New Jersey’s Luke Hughes before beating Allen over the shoulder. It was Reinhart’s 11th goal of the season, and Bobrovsky made it stand up — staving off a flurry in the final minute to seal the win.
It marked the second time this season New Jersey failed to get a standings point in back-to-back games. The Devils lost at Tampa Bay on Tuesday; they also had consecutive regulation losses in Colorado and San Jose on Oct. 28 and 30.
The Panthers celebrated defenseman Jeff Petry’s 1,000th game — a milestone reached earlier this week — in a pregame ceremony.
Petry’s four children wore the sweaters of his four previous teams, Edmonton, Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit, and the family was presented with a number of gifts from both the Panthers and the NHL. Every player on the Panthers warmed up for the game wearing a sweater bearing Petry’s No. 2 on the back instead of their own; those will be auctioned for charity.
The game was the NHL debut for Panthers rookie Jack Devine, a two-time national champion at Denver who was called up with Florida now missing seven would-be regulars in the lineup because of injuries.
Up next
Devils: At Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Panthers: Host Edmonton on Saturday night in a rematch of the last two Stanley Cup Finals.