Kaprizov has 4-point night, Wild top Panthers 4-1 to spoil Florida's home opener

Sunrise, Florida witnessed an electrifying night of hockey as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Florida Panthers 4-1, spoiling the Panthers' home opener. Kirill Kaprizov was the standout performer for the Wild, scoring three goals and adding an assist. Matt Boldy, making his first goal of the season, gave the Wild an early lead just 53 seconds into the game.

Kaprizov extended the Wild's lead with 13 minutes and 42 seconds remaining in the first period, then added two more goals in the second period before finishing his hat trick with an empty-netter with just 1:04 left on the clock. Florida's only goal came from Jacob Markstrom, who stopped 25 shots for the Panthers. The Panthers, who are without Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand, have only nine goals in their first five games and have led for a combined 8 minutes and 40 seconds in that span.

Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt continued his impressive start, conceding just 28 shots and boasting a .935 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.79 in his five starts. Wallstedt has been the stand-in goalkeeper for all five of Minnesota's games so far. This victory marks the Wild's 42nd win and 5th loss in 47 total games all-time when Kaprizov has at least three points, the most in franchise history.

Florida was the last team to play its home opener this season, with the Panthers leading each of their first five games against Florida. The game was the 807th for Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad, tying him with Jakob Barkov for the most games played by a Panthers player. The Wild will face Vegas on Monday night, while the Panthers travel to Buffalo on Monday afternoon.