SUNRISE - Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov scored three goals Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena, handing the Florida Panthers a 4-1 loss in their home opener and ending a seven-game winning streak in season-opening home games dating to 2019.
Kaprizov’s hat trick, combined with a goal from Matt Boldy at 0:53 of the first period, gave Minnesota a lead it never relinquished. The Wild scored twice in the first period before Matthew Tkachuk pulled the Panthers within one at 2:18 of the second, but Kaprizov answered at 5:00 of the second to restore the two-goal cushion. His third came on an empty-netter at 18:56 of the third, as reported by Florida Hockey Now.
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves in his first regular-season appearance in Sunrise since 2013, while Wild netminder Jesper Wallstedt turned aside a Tkachuk attempt on a 2-on-1 before the puck deflected off defenseman Daemon Hunt and into the net for Florida’s lone goal. Eetu Luostarinen, who scored Florida’s only power-play goal of the season, took a hard shot off the leg during the Panthers’ fourth power-play opportunity in the third period and left the ice.
The Panthers’ power play remained a significant problem. Florida went 0-for-5 with the man advantage Saturday and now stands at 1-for-28 on the season after going 2-0-2 on their opening four-game road trip. Minnesota’s second goal came on a Kaprizov one-timer from the right circle on a power play at 6:18 of the first period.
The game also marked a milestone for defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who officially became the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 807, surpassing captain Sasha Barkov. Ekblad and Barkov had ended last season tied at 804 games played and had both played two games this season before Saturday. Barkov is currently sidelined 6-8 weeks with a knee injury. Florida leads the all-time regular-season series against Minnesota 61-48-8, with four ties.
The Panthers head back on the road with a back-to-back set beginning Monday at 1 p.m. against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Arena — a team that beat Florida 3-1 last season — followed by a Tuesday visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets at 6:15 p.m. Florida returns home Thursday night to face the Vancouver Canucks.