Florida @ Minnesota preview
Xcel Energy Center
Last Meeting ( Nov 20, 2021 ) Minnesota 4, Florida 5
A pair of top-10 scorers in the NHL will battle when the Minnesota Wild host the Florida Panthers on Friday night in St. Paul.
The Wild are led by Kirill Kaprizov, who has notched 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists) in 44 games.
One of six players ahead of him on the scoring list is Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau, who has racked up 66 points (17 goals, 49 assists) in 48 games.
Both players have helped their teams climb at or near the top of their respective conference standings. Florida has 71 points in 48 games, while Minnesota has 63 points in 45 games.
"We had a good first half," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "But it doesn't mean anything if we don't have a good second half or a good playoff push."
The Panthers are coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night. Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart scored in regulation, and Aaron Ekblad netted the winning goal 16 seconds into the extra session off assists from Huberdeau and Barkov.
Meanwhile, Minnesota is hoping to bounce back from a 6-3 loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night. It was only the second loss in the past 10 games for the Wild, but it was enough to concern players and coaches alike.
"We're seeing, a little more now, little lapses in our game where we're just not as desperate as we should be, and it cost us," Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski said.
Wild head coach Dean Evason agreed.
"We were soft in front of our net," Evason said. "There were some plays that we usually take care of in around our goaltenders. They had so many pucks at open nets and open looks. We usually take care of that back side, and we didn't."
After Kaprizov, Minnesota's top scorers are Mats Zuccarello with 48 points (15 goals, 33 assists) and Kevin Fiala with 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists).
Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen have split time in net for the Wild, with Talbot posting a 19-9-1 record with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. Kahkonen is 11-3-2 with a 2.53 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
Reinhart is second behind Huberdeau on the Panthers' scoring list with 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists). Ekblad ranks third with 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists).
For Florida in net, primary starter Sergei Bobrovsky is 24-4-3 with a 2.54 GAA and a .919 save percentage. Backup Spencer Knight is 9-6-2 with a 3.23 GAA and an .898 save percentage.
Patric Hornqvist is expected to appear in his second game back for the Panthers since missing eight games heading into the All-Star break because of an upper-body injury. He had an assist in Wednesday's overtime victory while logging nearly 15 minutes of ice time.
"Obviously, it was not the way I wanted to go into the break, being hurt and all that," Hornqvist said. "But the break came at a good time for me, and I think the team as well.
"We were playing really well and then got these 10 days (off), and now we're back at it. ... The fun part is in front of us."
--Field Level Media