NEWARK, N.J. -- If the Panthers and Devils meet in the opening round of the playoffs, expect a lot of close games. Saturday marked the fourth time the teams have played with the game being a one-goal affair going into the final minutes.

Florida didn’t do much offensively against the Devils on Saturday afternoon, but it really didn’t need to. Goals from Sean Bergenheim, Kris Versteeg and an empty-netter from Mikael Samuelsson were enough as Scott Clemmensen made 27 saves against his former team to lift the Panthers to a 3-1 victory at Prudential Center.

“I think the big difference between this group and the ones we have had before is the mental toughness,” Clemmensen said. “We had new guys come in from different winning organizations, and they know how to play in those [close] situations. You just see the confidence.”

Florida and New Jersey split their season series. Florida’s win kept the Panthers atop the Southeast Division and in the third spot in the Eastern Conference standings. New Jersey dropped to sixth in the East. If they both hold those positions, they will play a few more games come April.

New Jersey swept Florida in the opening round of the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs — the last time the Panthers advanced to the postseason.

“These are two hard-working teams,” said Devils coach Pete DeBoer, who was fired by the Panthers after three seasons. “I think we play similar styles, and they’ve been entertaining games. I don’t want to think about the playoffs right now. We have two months to go, and I think they’re saying the same thing with what they’ve been through. We’re all day-to-day right now.”

If you believe the adage that stats don’t lie, the Panthers had a lot going against them Saturday. New Jersey opened the scoring 1:39 into the game when former Panthers winger Steve Bernier took a nice pass from Alexei Ponikarovsky and beat Clemmensen on the third shot of the day.

That was an omen that the Panthers weren’t coming out of this one with a win. Instead, Bergenheim knocked in a long shot by Erik Gudbranson to tie the score in the first before Versteeg scored off a big rebound from goaltender Martin Brodeur in the second.

“This was a very satisfying win because it was built around a team effort,” said Panthers coach Kevin Dineen, whose team has won four of six — and two in a row — since the All-Star break. “We got a lot of quality minutes out of players. We spread some of the responsibility around the lineup.”

The Panthers are just 8-16-5 when the opposing team scores first. Saturday’s win was just the second in Florida’s past 15 games when the opposition picked up that first goal. Florida also earned a rare road victory. The Panthers had won just three of their previous 16 games away from Sunrise.

“When you’re going through it, you don’t really realize it,” Stephen Weiss said. “I heard a stat [Saturday] and couldn’t believe it. The games just come so fast, so you get caught up and don’t realize how long it has been. This was a big win for us. We had to dig down and find a way to win. And we did.”

• The Panthers lost defenseman Jason Garrison to an undisclosed lower-body injury and replaced him temporarily with Samuelsson. With Garrison questionable for Sunday’s game at the Islanders, the Panthers will recall Colby Robak from their AHL club in San Antonio. The Rampage played in Rochester, N.Y., which was Florida’s AHL affiliate until this past summer, on Saturday night.

• Goalie Jose Theodore is expected to start Sunday against the Islanders after missing the past eight games with a sore knee. Theodore, originally injured Dec. 31 against Montreal, has missed 13 of the past 15 games.

Theodore has started both games against the Islanders this season and got his first shutout as a member of the Panthers in his Florida debut on Oct. 8 on Long Island. He left the home game against the Islanders on Oct. 22 with the score tied at 2. Jacob Markstrom relieved him and earned the victory.

“The knee is really good, so now it’s just about getting back out there,” Theodore said. “I needed the rest because it didn’t feel good. I have a couple practices under my belt, so I’m ready. It was tough sitting out and watching. It’s good to be back with the team.”

• Florida could also have winger Jack Skille back in the lineup Sunday. He traveled with the team and skated with goalie coach Robb Tallas before Saturday’s game.

• The Panthers will fly home from New York following Sunday’s game and don’t play again until Wednesday when Ottawa comes to Sunrise.