Devs back in ‘W’ column

Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist, Keith Kinkaid made 35 saves and the Devils stopped a three-game skid Saturday, topping the Panthers 3-2 at Prudential Center.

Taylor Hall and Blake Coleman also scored for the Devils, who won for the first time since opening the season with four consecutive victories. Nico Hischier had two assists.

“It’s huge. ... We can’t be a streaky team,” Kinkaid said. “We want to be a consistent team, and it was key to have a good start today and keep that going.”

The Devils, who never trailed, went ahead 1-0 on Palmieri’s controversial goal with 9.5 seconds remaining in the first period.

Palmieri appeared to brush Florida goalie James Reimer just as Damon Severson’s point shot arrived, and the Panthers challenged for goalie interference. The score was upheld after a lengthy video review, giving Palmieri a team-leading eighth goal.

“It’s tricky,’’ Palmieri said. “It probably looked like a lot more contact than it actually was. I went to the net and caught his blocker on my shoulder there, but it’s hard. It’s a judgment call, but it went our way, so you can’t com- plain about those.”

Florida missed several excellent power-play chances in the first, as Kinkaid denied Mike Hoffman from the right circle, Vincent Trocheck hit the post and Jonathan Huberdeau flipped a shot over the net.

There was no disputing the Devils’ second goal, 3:05 into the second period. All alone in the slot, Hall got a pass from Palmieri and beat Reimer. Coleman made it 3-0 at 13:21.

In the third, Kinkaid lost his bid for a shutout when Mike Matheson scored with 4:57 remaining. With Reimer on the bench for an extra attacker, Hoffman scored with 15 seconds left.