Devils get 3 power play scores, top Panthers 6-2 to finish sweep of Cup champs

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New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt (63) and Florida Panthers left wing Tomas Nosek (92) battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt (63) is congratulated by teammates after he scored during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt, center, goes airborne as he and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, right, protect the net against New Jersey Devils left wing Ondrej Palat (18) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist, center, scores against New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) and defenseman Dougie Hamilton (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen, second from left, celebrates with teammates after he scored during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) is unable to take a shot at New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) attempts a shot against New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen (11) attempts a shot at Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) attempts to score against New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) and defenseman Dougie Hamilton (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) and New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

By Tim Reynolds

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jesper Bratt got his second career hat trick, Stefan Noesen scored twice and the New Jersey Devils beat the Florida Panthers 6-2 on Thursday night to sweep a two-game series with the Stanley Cup champions.

Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists for the Devils, who also won 4-1 in Florida on Tuesday. Jake Allen stopped 25 shots for New Jersey, which got three power-play scores — along with a short-handed empty-netter with 5:12 left, Bratt’s third of the night — and is now 7-2-0 in its last nine games.

Sam Reinhart — the first player with 13 goals this season — and Jesper Boqvist scored for Florida, which hadn’t dropped two straight since Oct. 10 and 12. Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves.

Takeaways

Devils: New Jersey became the first team this season to get two goals in the final 12 seconds of periods. Both were power-play tallies; Bratt scored with two seconds left in the first, Noesen with 11 seconds left in the second.

Panthers: Florida got Sam Bennett back Thursday after he missed Tuesday’s game with a minor upper-body issue. Bennett had an assist on Boqvist’s goal.

Key moment

The Panthers, down 4-2, opened the third period on a power play but it was wiped out 22 seconds later when Carter Verhaeghe was called for tripping — one of many calls that Florida wasn’t thrilled about during the evening.

Key stat

The Devils already have two games with three power-play goals this season. They had five in the last six regular seasons combined.

Up next

The Devils visit Tampa Bay on Saturday and will try to go 3-0-0 in Florida this season; they haven’t had a perfect record in the Sunshine State (excluding COVID-affected seasons) since going 4-0-0 at Florida and Tampa Bay in 2000-01.

The Panthers host NHL-leading Winnipeg on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tim Reynolds

NBA writer