Panthers play the Wild in a non-conference matchup

The Minnesota Wild and the Florida Panthers are set to clash in a non-conference matchup at the altitude of Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday evening. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. EDT. The Panthers, who are currently holding a 2-1-1 record in the Central Division, will be facing off against the Wild, who sit at 2-0-2 in the competing Atlantic Division. The best-of-3 series between these two teams is scheduled to commence this weekend.

Heading into the game, the Panthers displayed a solid season, finishing the regular season with a 2-1-1 record and a 23-15-3 mark at home last year. They managed to score 52 power-play goals throughout the season, with a 19.6% success rate on 266 chances. The Minnesota Wild, on the other hand, concluded their regular season with a 2-0-2 record and a 25-17-5 record in road games last season. They registered a total of 268 goals throughout the season, averaging 3.3 goals per game while taking 29.1 shots per game on average.

In terms of injuries, the Panthers will be without Jonah Gadjovich due to an upper-body issue, Brad Marchand out with a leg injury, Aaron Ekblad with a day-to-day status due to a personal matter, and Aleksander Barkov sidelined with a lower-body ailment. On the Wild's side, Filip Gustavsson will miss action due to a hip issue, Nick Foligno is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, Olli Maatta is also day-to-day because of a lower-body concern, and Brock Faber is out with a skull injury.