3 Takeaways From the Wild’s 4-1 Win Over the Panthers

The Minnesota Wild finished up their three-game road trip when they took on the Florida Panthers on Saturday evening, Oct. 10. They came into the game following a rough loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Oct. 8, where they found themselves down early and had to chase the puck most of the game. Against the Panthers, they were without Marcus and Nick Foligno, plus Zach Bogosian, due to injuries, but Olli Määttä was back after missing their last game due to an injury. 

Jesper Wallstedt was in the net once again, and this time the Wild came out with a bang as they jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the first. The Panthers thought they scored toward the later part of the period, but it was called off due to the puck being kicked in, so the Wild took the 2-0 lead into the second. The Panthers got on the board in the second, but the Wild answered right back and kept the two-goal lead going into the final period. They added one more goal and took the win 4-1. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few takeaways from this game, starting with their star players.

Wild Stars Continue to Show Up

In order for teams to succeed, they need their star players to show up and produce, and the Wild have had that going for them. Due to injuries, the Wild reunited their top line from last season of Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy, and they didn’t let them down with a goal just 53 seconds into the game. 

Kirill Kaprizov got his season started on the right foot, and he hasn’t slowed down with points in four of the Wild’s five games this season. He has eight points in those five games, with four of them coming in their strong win over the Panthers. He helped get the game started with an assist on the first goal of the game, and then he scored the next three, with one on the power play, to make sure his team kept their two-goal lead each time, and he scored the final goal of the game with an empty-netter to seal the 4-1 win. 

That leaves the other goal scorer, Matt Boldy, who did have a slower start to the season than his linemate, but he got it going against the Panthers with the first goal of the game for the Wild. He got his second point of the night on Kaprizov’s second goal of the night as well plus Eriksson Ek had a lone assist as well, so it was a strong night for the Wild’s top line. 

“Yeah, I mean I think we have a lot of chemistry together, we know how to play, I think we play a pretty responsible game that’s hard, and you know skill shines through eventually, but I don’t know I obviously like playing with those guys, but yeah there’s so many combinations that can have success here so you just kind of go with the flow and you know come in every day and see who you’re with,” said Boldy to the media in his postgame interview on Wild.com when asked about playing with Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek. 

Wild Played Their Game

It may sound simple for a team to “play their game,” but it’s something that can easily get lost when there’s a bad play or a couple of quick goals. It’s as much of a mental game as it is a physical one, and it’s easy to not have as much focus on what needs to happen when things aren’t going the way that’s planned. 

The Wild came out with quick feet and their heads focused on their play, which made it possible for them to get on the scoreboard. They play best when they’re utilizing their speed and moving the puck rather than slowing things down, and against the Panthers, they were able to get that speed going and got on the board quickly. A big part of their game is also their special teams, and both the penalty kill plus the power play shone and helped lead them to their win.

Their energy was there, and even when the Panthers looked ready to climb back into the game, the Wild didn’t sit back on their heels for long; they pushed back and answered with a goal to keep them ahead by two. Despite the Panthers’ efforts to pull them into a more physical game, the Wild didn’t fall for the trap and stuck to their game, and that led them to the win. 

“Yeah, it was a lot of penalties, maybe a little too much but we trust our penalty kill, we trust our special teams, I think our power play is very good today too and then Wally (Wallstedt) was awesome, I think it helps us a lot when you can trust your goalie like that, make those saves and a little extra too so you can be a little more aggressive and you don’t have to hesitate so much it’s almost like you’re playing five out there,” said Olli Määttä to the media in his postgame interview on Wild.com when asked about the penalty kill. 

Wild’s Lorenz Showed He Belongs

With the recent injuries to the Wild lineup, there were some voids that needed to be filled. Jesper Wallstedt has been the starting goaltender with Filip Gustavsson recovering from surgery, and Daemon Hunt has been in the lineup since the start of the season with the injury to Brock Faber. However, against the Panthers, the Wild were also without Zach Bogosian, which meant David Špaček was in the lineup for the second straight game after being in for Määttä the previous game. 

Nico Sturm has been in the past two games while Nick Foligno was out, but with Marcus Foligno also out, they had to bring in another player, and that was Rieger Lorenz. He had a strong training camp, and he made enough of an impact to be called up when injuries took their toll. He may not have gotten a point, but he fit in quite well and adapted to the NHL speed right away. It’ll be interesting to see how long he gets to stay in the lineup and how much his game improves from here. 

“Yeah, no, for sure, I think I was talking to Gorgie in the intermission there. I think my preseason kinda training camp, you know, helped build confidence for me so I could step right in there, and it was nice to get my feet wet right away,” said Lorenz to the media in his postgame interview on Wild.com when asked about drawing a penalty on his second shift of the game. 

Following this win, the Wild will head back home to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, Oct. 12, in the first game of a home-and-road back-to-back. They’ll head back on the road the next day to face the Winnipeg Jets before coming back home for a couple of games. Hopefully they can bring this energy back with them and keep the wins coming.