Pirri Has Goal, 2 Assists; Panthers Destroy Devils 5-1
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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Brandon Pirri had a goal and two assists, Jussi Jokinen and Logan Shaw each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Thursday night.
Florida has won two in a row. Vincent Trocheck had two assists, Dmitry Kulikov and Reilly Smith also scored and Al Montoya made 15 saves for the Panthers.
Cory Schneider made 21 saves and New Jersey lost for the second time in three games.
New Jersey's Sergey Kalinin made it 4-1 with a power-play goal with 6:22 left, but Shaw scored an empty-net goal with 4:44 remaining.
The Panthers went into the first intermission up 2-0 on Jokinen's power-play goal and Kulikov's tally.
Jokinen's sixth of the season opened the scoring at 9:32. He corralled Pirri's stretch pass at the blue line, then split two defenders before snapping a shot past Schneider.
About 2 1/2 minutes later, Kulikov's first of the season doubled the Panthers' advantage, and it was the culmination of a long shift in which Florida's top line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr maintained possession of the puck in the offensive zone for an extended period of time.
Pirri scored his seventh of the season 2:42 into the second to grow the lead to 3-0. Pirri ripped a drive from the right circle that beat Schneider cleanly.
Dating back to Dec. 8, Pirri has two goals and four assists in five games.
Neither team generated many offensive chances, with Florida finishing with advantages in shots on goal (26-16) and total attempted shots (33-26).
Montoya entered the game with a 4-1-1 mark in seven games, along with a 1.91 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
Smith jammed Trocheck's feed under Schneider for Florida's fourth goal at 7:28 of the third. Schneider stopped Smith's initial shot, but the Florida winger's second jab at the puck led to his 10th goal of the season.
Kalinin tipped Palmieri's slap shot to spoil Montoya's shutout bid. Palmieri was initially credited with the goal, but his shot glanced off Kalinin's leg and in.
NOTES: Prior to the game, New Jersey activated left wing Tuomo Ruutu from the injured reserve and assigned right wing Brian O'Neill to its AHL affiliate in Albany, N.Y. Ruutu had missed 27 straight games with a fractured right foot. ... The game was the 100th with the Devils for Ruutu, Jordin Tootoo and Mike Cammalleri. ... Florida scratched Connor Brickley and Derek MacKenzie. ... Stefan Matteau and Eric Gelinas were scratched by New Jersey. ... Jagr's assist on Kulikov's goal was the 1,093rd in his career and his 1,824th point in his 1,579th NHL game. ... Florida has one more game remaining on its four-game trip. ... The announced attendance was 12,512.
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