The Florida Panthers were beaten 5-1 by the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in their first game of the year at BB&T Center.
After going 0-4-2 in the preseason, the Panthers have now begun the regular season at 0-1-1. Not only has Florida struggled to win but it has also had difficulty putting goals on the board as of late. In the final two preseason games, the Panthers were outscored 7-1. Thus far in two regular season contests, Florida has surrendered eight goals and put three in the net itself.
The Devils put four goals past Roberto Luongo in the first period alone with the first coming in under three minutes of play. When New Jersey added a fifth goal in the second period, the Panthers took Luongo off the ice. Al Montoya stepped in at that point which was less than three minutes into the second period of play.
Montoya did an admirable job in his time on the ice as he saved all ten attempts shot at him in 37 minutes of action. The 29-year old played in Winnipeg last season before joining Florida this year via free agency.
Derek MacKenzie scored the lone goal for Florida during the second period on a power play. Beyond that, it was a quiet night for Florida offensively despite having more power play opportunities. The Panthers had eight such chances while New Jersey had five. The Devils did make the most of those chances though with two power play goals of their own.
The Panthers will look for their first win of 2014-15 again on Monday against the Ottawa Senators in Sunrise.
