New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers: Pete DeBoer's Homecoming Spoiled

Usually when the New Jersey Devils get a three-goal lead, they hold onto it.

That wasn't the case tonight in Florida, as their 3-0 first-period advantage dissolved into a 4-3 loss to the Panthers.

It was the first game back for Devils coach Pete DeBoer, who guided the Panthers the past three NHL seasons. Needless to say, this won't go down as one of his favorites.

"The first time you come back it’s always a little different because you used to be on the other side,” said New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur at nj.com. “I don’t think it’s any different for a coach.”

Ilya Kovalchuk, Peter Sykora and Dainius Zubrus all scored in the first 12 minutes of play for New Jersey, but the host Panthers started chipping away at that lead in the second stanza, as top scorer Kris Versteeg tallied a pair of goals in a span of just over five minutes.

The Devils also lost defenseman Anton Volchenkov to an injury after a first-period hit by Shawn Matthias. Devils forward Rod Pelley later fought Matthias, while Volchenkov did not return to the game. 

Stephen Weiss knotted matters with a shorthanded goal at 9:12 of the third period, and then Tomas Fleischmann won it with 2:03 remaining in regulation when he took a pass from behind the net, skated wide to his left, and whipped the puck past a sprawling Brodeur, who finished with 32 saves.

The Devils ended their five-game road trip with a 3-2-0 mark, and are now 10-7-1 overall and fourth in the Atlantic Division. Jose Theodore made 22 stops for Florida, as the two teams combined to go 0-for-8 on the power play in front of 13,122 fans at the BankAtlantic Center.

The Panthers, who claimed the shots-on-goal contest, 36-25, have won three of their last four outings overall. They also now sit in first place in the Southeast Division with an 11-6-3 mark.