NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey Devils coach John Hynes talked Sunday morning about the importance of getting off to a good start at home against the Florida Panthers later that night.

His team listened, jumping out to a two-goal first-period lead on the way to a 4-2 win that ended the Devils' four-game winless streak at the Prudential Center.

Florida (13-10-4) entered the night with a five-game road winning streak. The Panthers concluded the trip at 4-1-0 and have lost six straight regular-season games in New Jersey.

New Jersey (14-10-3) received goals from right wingers Lee Stempniak and Kyle Palmieri and left wingers Adam Henrique and Mike Cammalleri. Henrique and defenseman Damon Severson each registered two assists.

Stempniak and Palmieri scored the key first-period goals.

"It was a good start," said Henrique. "Obviously playing with the lead was big. We got back on track. John (Hynes) told us we needed a good effort in the first period.

"It's been hit and miss at home. It's always important to create that identity in this building so teams know when they come in it's going to be a tough game."

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and left winger Jonathan Huberdeau scored for the Panthers.

"We had some good chances the second part of the game, but we kept playing from behind," said Panthers coach Gerard Gallant. "It was a battle but we lost the game in the first period,

"We talked this morning about playing 60 minutes and we didn't do it. If you don't play 60 minutes you're not going to win in this league."

Florida outshot the Devils 29-7 in the last two periods.

Florida right winger Jaromir Jagr, who recorded two assists, needs one goal for 731 to tie Marcel Dionne for fourth place on the all-time NHL list. His next chance will come at home against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Jagr, 43, is with his eighth NHL team. He was making his first trip back to New Jersey since the Devils traded him to the Panthers on Feb. 26 last season.

"We didn't skate," said a disgruntled Jagr. "We had no legs in the first period. No excuses. We didn't show up."

Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo appeared in his 886th game, tying Hall of Famer Tony Esposito for seventh all time. He stopped 14 shots.

Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, who served as Luongo's backup for five seasons when they were teammates on the Vancouver Canucks, made 34 saves, including stopping Huberdeau's penalty shot in the second period.

"(Jonathan) Huberdeau is pretty tricky," said Schneider. "He likes to make some moves in tight. I just tried to stay with him and sometimes to you have to use the heel of your skate to get a piece of it. I'm glad I kept it out."

Huberdeau's third goal of the season drew Florida to within 3-2 at 13:07 of the second on assists from Jagr and Ekblad. However, four minutes later he was thwarted by that skate save from Schneider on the penalty shot. .

Huberdeau was upended by Devils defenseman Adam Larsson as he skated in alone on goal, leading to the penalty shot.

New Jersey moved ahead 3-1 on Henrique's wrap-around goal from Larsson at 3:43 of the second. It was Henrique's team-leading 13th of the season.

Florida cut the Devils' lead to 2-1 only 45 seconds into the second period when Ekblad's slap shot trickled through Schneider's pads from the top of the right circle. Jagr and center Aleksander Barkov received the assists.

The Panthers allowed just one goal in each of their four previous games, but Luongo gave up two in the first period.

Stempniak gave the Devils a quick 1-0 lead, scoring on a back-hander just 26 seconds into the game. Stempniak received the puck from Cammalleri behind the net and lifted it for his sixth goal of the season.

Palmieri skated into the Panthers' zone unscathed and sent a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle for his 11th goal and a 2-0 New Jersey edge at 12:55 of the first period.

Cammalleri's 11th goal at 6:44 of the third gave the Devils a two-goal cushion.

NOTES: Florida LW Shawn Thornton, who leads the team in penalty minutes with 35, was a healthy scratch. ... D Alex Petrovic missed his fifth game with a foot injury for the Panthers. ... Florida activated D Dmitry Kulikov from the injured reserve list. ... Devils C Travis Zajac is out with an upper-body injury. ... D Jon Merrill and RW Bobby Farnham were healthy scratches for the Devils. Eric Gelinas replaced Merrill on the backline and Brian O'Neill replaced Farnham on New Jersey's fourth line. ... The Panthers ended a five-game road trip, their second longest trip of the season. ... New Jersey travels to play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello served as the Devils GM for 28 seasons, directing them to three Stanley Cup titles before resigning in July and taking the Toronto job. ... Florida C Aleksander Barkov won 86 percent of his faceoffs (18-of-22).