Panthers set sights on continued momentum vs. Wild

The Florida Panthers will try to stay in the win column on their visit to the State of Hockey when they face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champs kicked off a three-game road trip on Thursday with a 2-1 shootout win against Winnipeg. Sam Bennett scored the lone goal in regulation for Florida, while Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart found the back of the net in the shootout.

"I don't know if the defense was that good, but offensively, there wasn't a whole lot to be had either way," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said after the win. "I'll speak for our team. We'd like to move the puck quite a bit better than we moved it tonight. But on the road -- and we've had three of our last five we were really happy with; two we were just really distraught with. So, a little bit of normalcy and a game where not a lot happened, we'll take."

Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves and stopped both of Winnipeg's shootout attempts, also shutting the door on Mark Scheifele's third-period chance, which would have given the Jets the lead. It was the backup goaltender's second start in three games as Florida navigates a congested schedule.

"Tarasov, that's the mark," Maurice said. "Can you make the one save, right? The save he made back door (on Scheifele) was just an incredible save, and then (he was) great in the shootout."

Matthew Tkachuk recorded his first point of the season on an assist in his second game back after missing the first 47 of the season due to offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia.

The Panthers still have work left to do, five points back of a playoff spot entering Friday's action.

The Wild also enter following a win that came after regulation, rallying for a 4-3 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Kirill Kaprizov, who scored his first goal of the night in the first period, skated down the slot and scored on a wrist shot 45 seconds into overtime.

"I feel like we probably deserved more goals than we got," Wild head coach John Hynes said after the win. "But we didn't veer away from the game; we dug in and continued to do what we were doing in the second. We stayed with it, and to me, that's growth."

Minnesota was down 2-1 heading into the third period, but Mats Zuccarello scored twice to help force overtime.

"I mean, (Zuccarello's) so smart, like he knows where to be," said Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, who tallied three assists on the evening. "He makes so many plays. He's extremely impressive, honestly. And, you know, I think that's our coaching staff too, talking about getting to the net. For me, it's me and Brock (Faber). Once we beat that first guy, it's our job to get it there and give those guys a chance to make a play."

Saturday's game will be the first meeting of the season between the Wild and the Panthers. The teams split the season series in 2024-25, with the Panthers winning the last meeting 6-1 in Minnesota on Dec. 18, 2024.

--Field Level Media