Before the season started, the Wild answered a lot of questions about starting better than they did last fall, when they won just three of their first 10 games and spent the rest of the season vainly chasing a playoff spot.
Yes, the players agreed, we need to start better this season — and now they’re doing it.
Five Wild players scored goals, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson continued what has been the best start of his NHL career as Minnesota hammered the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, 5-1, at Amerant Arena in Sunrise, Fla.
Four games into a run of seven straight road games that continues Thursday night in Tampa Bay, the Wild are 4-0-2.
Gustavsson stopped 24 of 25 shots to improve to 4-0-1 with a 1.40 goals against average in five starts as the Wild played their sixth game this season without training in regulation. Their streak of 360 minutes without trailing — their losses were in overtime and a shootout — is the second-longest run to start a season in NHL history.
They passed the 1990-91 Boston Bruins (301:41) early in the first period and trail only the Bruins, who played 457:21 without trailing to begin the 1969-70 season.
“For sure, if you can play with a lead, it’s great,” Eriksson Ek told FanDuel Sports Network after the game. “We know it won’t be like this all season, but it shows that so far, we’ve been controlling play when we take a lead, so hopefully we can keep doing that.”
The Wild have now scored first in all six of their games, and outscored teams 7-1 in the first period.
“I don’t know if it becomes easier, but it’s nice when it happens,” Hynes told reporters in Sunrise after the game.
Marco Rossi and Marcus Johansson scored to send the Wild into the second period with a 2-0 lead, and Matt Boldy, Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek scored in the second to send them into the third leading 5-1.
Boldy deflected a shot by Zuccarello at the tail end of a power play, Minnesota’s sixth goal in 17 power-play chances.
Sam Bennett scored on a 2-on-1 rush for Florida, which entered the game on a four-game points streak. That made it 3-1 with 11:19 left in the period. Just more than two minutes later Zuccarello scored on a snap shot from the right circle before Sergei Bobrovsky, lured out of his crease by Kirill Kaprizov, could jump back into his net to make it 4-1.
A little more than two minutes later, Eriksson Ek scored top shelf, far side to make it 5-1.
Bobrovsky stopped 11 of 16 shots and was pulled after two periods.
“I think we played a solid road game,” he told FanDuel’s Kevin Gorg after the game. “Didn’t really give them much, and really made them work for what they wanted to create. So, I think it was a pretty solid effort for us tonight.”
Eriksson Ek, Boldy and Zuccarello each had a goal and assist, and defenseman Jake Middleton had three assists.
“We just all did what we were supposed to do and didn’t break under pressure, and we all looked good doing it,” Middleton told FanDuel Sports.
Briefly
Jared Spurgeon, whose season was interrupted after two games because of a setback related to winter hip and back surgeries, has begun skating in Minnesota, but it remains unclear when he can return. “I think the fact that he’s up and skating is a positive,” Hynes told reporters in Sunrise, Fla., on Tuesday, “So, we’ll just take it day by day.” … Ryan Hartman was unavailable against the Panthers because of an upper body injury. He missed last Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Columbus, as well.
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Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) goes down as he battles for the puck with Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer, left, defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) and center Jesper Boqvist (70) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
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