SUNRISE, Fla. — Scottie Upshall scored the go-ahead goal, and the Panthers severely hurt the Devils’ playoff chances with a 5-3 victory on Friday night.
Patrik Elias had a goal and assist, and Bryce Salvador and Jaromir Jagr also scored for the Devils. Cory Schneider made 17 saves, but gave up four or more goals for the third straight start.
“Whatever I’m doing right now is just not working, and I’ve got to find a way to get out of this,” Schneider said.
Roberto Luongo stopped 28 shots for Florida.
Schneider and Luongo, former teammates in Vancouver, faced each other for the first time with their new teams. Schneider was traded to the Devils last summer, and Luongo was sent to the Panthers in a trade on March 4.
Luongo beat Schneider for the third time this season. The first two were with the Canucks.
“It happens to everybody. It’s a long season. He’s been lights out the whole year,” Luongo said. “You go through stretches where things don’t go as well. He’s a great goalie and he’s strong mentally. He’ll get out of it.”
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Campbell’s goal at 9:59 of the first.
The Devils tied at 1-all on a power-play goal by Jagr. Travis Zajac fired a slap shot from above the left circle. Luongo tried to glove it but it bounced out. Damien Brunner got the rebound and swept the puck toward the net. Jagr tipped it past Luongo with 1:15 left for his 22nd goal.
The Devils went ahead 2-1 at 2:02 of the second on Salvador’s goal. It was the first goal for Salvador since March 10, 2010 against the Rangers — a span of 173 games.
New Jersey stretched its lead to 3-1 at 13:13 of the second. Elias’ shot from the right circle beat Luongo on the short side.
Behind 3-2, the Panthers scored three times in the third period to win it.
Upshall’s wrist shot from the right circle at 10:00 gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead, and Florida added an empty netter.
“We had opportunities to build on the lead that we had, and we didn’t take advantage of it,” Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. “We let them hang around, and that’s what happens.”