The Florida Panthers’ home opener didn’t deliver the kind of welcome-back moment they wanted. Instead, a sellout crowd of 19,856 at Amerant Bank Arena watched Minnesota jump early and ride Kirill Kaprizov’s big night to a 4-1 win on Saturday.
Florida had made it through its season-opening four-game road trip without taking a regulation loss. That changed quickly once the Panthers were back in Sunrise, where the Wild struck first on the game’s opening shot.
Matt Boldy picked up the puck in the neutral zone and carried it toward Florida’s blue line, and a defensive lapse by the Seth Jones-Niko Mikkola pairing gave him space to enter cleanly and get a shot away. His long wrist shot beat Jacob Markstrom and put Minnesota up 1-0 just 53 seconds into the first period.
Kaprizov extended the lead to 2-0 about five minutes later on the power play, scoring his fourth goal of the season. Florida answered later, but Minnesota kept control of the game and got right back to work early in the second period.
Five minutes into the middle frame, Kaprizov struck again, finishing a strong pass from Boldy to make it 3-1. From there, the Wild protected the lead until the final minute, when Kaprizov finished off his hat trick by sending the puck from just inside Minnesota’s blue line into Florida’s empty net with 64 seconds left.
The Panthers now head to Buffalo after their first regulation loss of the season.
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Panthers Home Opener Suddenly Becomes A Lineup Test For Paul Maurice
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Lars Eller is set to slide up to center the second line, and that opens a lane for Sam Lafferty to make his debut in a Panthers sweater on the third line. If that alignment sticks, Lafferty would be flanked by Bokondji Imama and Garnett Hathaway, a combination that gives Maurice a very different look as Florida tries to navigate its first night at home. [Read more 🡒]