James Nichols
Back at the Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils (29-29-2) host the Florida Panthers (30-27-3) in the battle of mirrored misery.
Why misery, you ask? Well, because both teams were expected to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs—especially the Panthers are the defending, back-to-back champions.
However, their miss is a lot more understandable. Their injury situation is far worse than the Devils’ ever was this year, and they’ve played the most hockey of any team in the last two seasons.
No one is worried about them overall, and they’re likely contenders again next season.
The Devils’ disappointment is far different. Alas, both teams are playing out the season with the NHL trade deadline ahead. Some are skating to improve their trade stock, others are playing with the hopes they stay put.
We’ll see what happens.
Let’s dive into tonight’s matchup.
What to Know vs. Panthers
— The Devils and Florida conclude their 2025-26 regular-season series. The Devils defeated Florida 3-1 at the Rock on Oct. 16, but also suffered a 1-0 road loss on Nov. 20.
—Timo Meier leads the Devils with two points (1g-1a) against Florida this season, while Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes also recorded one goal against the Cats this season.
—Netminder Jake Allen has played in both games against Florida this season and has recorded 44 saves on 46 shots.
2025-26 vs. Panthers
10/16/25 W 3-1 Prudential Center
11/20/25 1-0 L Amerant Bank Arena
03/03/26 7:00 P.M. ET Prudential Center
Devils vs. Panthers
All-time Record: 60-37-7-8
All-time Home Record: 33-18-3-3
All-time Road Record: 27-19-4-5
Projected Devils Lineup*
Forwards
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Connor Brown
Arseny Gritsyuk – Cody Glass – Lenni Hameenaho
Paul Cotter – Nick Bjugstad – Maxim Tsyplakov
Defensemen
Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Goaltenders
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
*Lineup subject to change
Current Injuries: Zack MacEwen (upper body, out for season)
2025-26 Total Man-Games Lost: 268
Projected Panthers Lineup*
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Sandis Vilmanis – Jesper Boqvist – A.J. Greer
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Donovan Sebrango – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
*Lineup subject to change
How to Watch the Devils Game — 7:00 P.M. ET
Watch: TNT | Hulu | MAX
Radio: DEVILS HOCKEY NET
Next Up
Wed., Mar. 4 Vs Toronto 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Sat., Mar. 7 Vs NY Rangers 3:00 P.M. E.T.
Sun., Mar 8 Vs Detroit 5:00 P.M. E.T.
Thu., Mar. 12 Vs CGY 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Sat., March 14 Vs LAK 7:00 P.M. E.T.
