My Cousin Nicky: Florida Panthers 5, New Jersey Devils 3

There were a lot of big names on the ice Tuesday night when the Florida Panthers faced the New Jersey Devils but the biggest offensive production came from Nick Cousins.

Got a problem with that?

Cousins, who came into the night with three goals this season, scored twice as the Panthers beat New Jersey 5-3 for their sixth consecutive win.

It was Cousins’ first two-goal game since 2020.

The Panthers, who went 3-0 on this three-games-in-four days roadtrip, come home having won 11 of 12 and 16 of their past 18.

Florida also extended its lead atop the NHL standings — and in road wins, now with 23.

Not too shabby.

The Panthers fulfilled coach Paul Maurice’s wishes for a quick start against a Devils team which made a coaching change the day before.

Florida took a 2-0 lead off goals from Cousins and Evan Rodrigues before the Devils battled back — and eventually tied the score at 2 midway through the second.

Eetu Luostarinen gave Florida the lead back at 12:37 of the second.

Jersey Guy Anthony Stolarz did the rest, beating his hometown Devils for the first time with 22 saves.

Matthew Tkachuk got his third assist of the night at 5:33 of the third when he fed Gus Forsling in the slot; his shot was deflected in by Cousins for a little breathing room.

New Jersey ended up pulling back within a goal, but Sam Reinhart iced it with the empty net goal.

Aaron Ekblad had an assist on that goal, giving him 230 in his career which is most in franchise history. He had been tied with Robert Svehla.

Tkachuk became the fourth player in franchise history with consecutive 50-assist seasons — joining Jonathan Huberdeau, Sasha Barkov, and Olli Jokinen. All three did it twice.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Devils 0 (2:54, 1st): Nick Cousins drives past Erik Haula and puts a backhanded shot past Akira Schmid for the game’s opening goal.
• Panthers 2, Devils 0 (6:30, 1st PP): Evan Rodrigues slides into the slot and hammers a pass from Matthew Tkachuk.
• Panthers 2, Devils 1 (11:45, 1st PP): Jack Hughes throws up a shot from 35 feet out which deflects off the stick of Gus Forsling and past Anthony Stolarz.
• Devils 2, Panthers 2 (11:01, 2nd): Timo Meier wins a faceoff, barrels his way into the front of the net chasing a loose puck and taps it through.
• Panthers 3, Devils 2 (12:37, 2nd): Eetu Luostarinen gets a slick pass from Dmitry Kulikov and rips a shot.
• Panthers 4, Devils 2 (5:33, 3rd): Cousins gets his second of the night by deflecting a point shot from Gus Forsling from in front.
• Panthers 4, Devils 3 (11:16, 3rd): Colin Miller hits a pitching wedge from the blue and it skips through traffic and beats Stolarz.
• Panthers 5, Devils 3 (19:52, 3rd EN): No. 45 for Sam Reinhart.

GR’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

1. Nick Cousins, Florida

2. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida

3. Anthony Stolarz, Florida

ON DECK

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• Season Series — At Florida: Flyers 2, Panthers 1 (Feb 6); Thursday. At Philadelphia: March 24.  
• Last Season: Philadelphia won 2-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Philadelphia leads 57-37-6, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Calgary, 4 p.m.