A 20th goal for Hischier

But the success of the Valais center was not enough for the Devils, beaten 2-1 on penalties by the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Top Swiss scorer of the season with now 37 points, Nico Hischier allowed the Devils to equalize at 1-1 in the 43rd, less than two minutes after the Panthers had opened the scoring. The New Jersey captain found the fault with a wrist shot, after a pass from his Appenzell friend Timo Meier.

But the Devils gave in during the “shootout”, an exercise in which Florida is undefeated this season (four victories in four matches played on penalties). They remain in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division behind Washington, even though they have lost six of their last eight matches.

The evening was smoother for Nino Niederreiter and Roman Josi. The Grisons forward from Winnipeg scored his 13th assist and then his 12th goal in this 2024/25 season during a game won 6-1 by the Jets against Pius Suter’s Canucks.

The Bernese Predators defender signed his 21st assist of the season – and his 29th point – in a match won 5-3 by Nashville against the Vegas Golden Knights. He concluded this meeting with a personal record of +4, after clawing the ice for almost 25 minutes.