The Minnesota Wild scored five power-play goals while defeating the Florida Panthers 6-4 on Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Both starting goalies left the game at the same time. With 9:28 left in the second period, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled after making just 11 saves and allowing four goals. He was replaced by Anthony Stolarz, who saved nine of 10 shots.
Simultaneously, Minnesota pulled Marc-Andre Fleury due to an apparent injury after he stopped 10 of 11 shots. He was replaced by Filip Gustavsson, who allowed three goals but made 21 saves, including 18 in a frantic third period.
Panthers star Sam Reinhart had his franchise-record, eight-game goal streak snapped. All eight of those goals came on special teams — an NHL-record streak.
Minnesota got two power-play goals from Kirill Kaprizov and one each from Ryan Hartman, Brock Faber and Mats Zuccarello. Three of those goals were scored in a seven-minute span in the second period.
Hartman also had a game-clinching empty-netter with 11.8 seconds left.
The Panthers, who have lost four straight after a nine-game winning streak, got goals from Aaron Ekblad, Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell and Gustav Forsling.
Florida played its second straight game without captain/center Aleksander Barkov, who has a lower-body injury.
Minnesota led 1-0 after a physical first period that included two fights in the first nine minutes. The more savage brawl resulted in Minnesota’s Brandon Duhaime knocking out William Lockwood with a right hook.
That was apparently revenge for Lockwood running into Fleury behind the net. Kaprizov converted that into Minnesota’s first power-play goal and a 1-0 lead, tipping in a shot by Matt Boldy 2:49 into the game.
Florida tied the score just 35 seconds into second period on a wrist shot by Ekblad.
A tripping penalty on Bobrovsky set Minnesota up on a power play. Hartman, who got tripped, scored with help from a Pat Maroon screen.
Hartman then drew another penalty, a high-sticking call on Niko Mikkola, and Faber cashed in with a goal at 7:36.
A fourth straight penalty against Florida — slashing on Luostarinen — resulted in Zuccarello’s goal. Bobrovsky, screened by Joel Eriksson Ek, never saw the puck, and his night was done.
Florida cut its deficit to 4-2 as Luostarinen shoved in a loose puck with 1:33 left in the second.
An elbowing penalty on Ekblad with 12 seconds left in the second was converted into Kaprizov’s power-play goal 41 ticks into the third.
The Panthers, though, scored twice in an 18-second span midway through the third. First, Lundell scored on a rebound into the open right side of the net. Then Forsling scored on a shot that was deflected by Minnesota’s Zuccarello.
–Field Level Media
