The Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers hit the ice at Xcel Energy Center for the first game of the season on Thursday, October 12 at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN+, BSFL, BSN, and BSWI.
Wild vs. Panthers Game Info
- Game Day: Thursday, October 12, 2023
- Game Time: 8:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: Bally Sports (Regional restrictions may apply)
FREE NHL LIVE STREAM: Watch Wild vs. Panthers for free with a trial to Fubo!
Wild and Panthers Stats, Key Players, and Injuries
Wild Insights
- The Wild’s 239 goals scored last season (2.9 per game) ranked 23rd in the NHL.
- Defensively, the Wild were one of the stingiest squads in league play, allowing 219 total goals (2.7 per game) to rank sixth.
- Their goal differential (+20) ranked 14th in the league.
- The 54 power-play goals the Wild recorded last season (15th in the NHL) came via 252 power-play chances.
- The Wild were 15th in the league with a 21.43% power-play conversion rate.
- The 14 shorthanded goals the Wild scored last season ranked third among NHL squads.
- The Wild’s 82.03% penalty-kill success rate was 10th-best in the league.
- The Wild had the 26th-ranked faceoff win percentage in the NHL, at 47.7%.
- The Wild shot 9.4% as a team (23rd in the league).
- The Wild earned five shutouts last season. Their skaters averaged 21.8 hits and 16.1 blocked shots per game.
Wild Key Players
- Kirill Kaprizov was imperative to Minnesota’s offense last season, putting up 75 points in 67 games.
- With 22 goals and 45 assists, Mats Zuccarello was among the top offensive options for Minnesota (67 points, 0.8 per game).
- Matthew Boldy generated 63 points for Minnesota in 81 games last season, scoring on 12.2% of his shots and putting up 31 goals and 32 assists.
- In the 39 games Filip Gustavsson played a season ago, his save percentage was 93.095, third-best in the league.
Wild Injuries
Jared Spurgeon: Upper Body (Out)
Panthers Insights
- With 288 goals (3.5 per game) last season, the Panthers had the NHL’s sixth-best offense.
- The Panthers’ total of 272 goals conceded (3.3 per game) was 21st in the league.
- They had the 16th-ranked goal differential in the league at +16.
- The Panthers had 63 power-play goals (eighth-most in NHL) on 276 chances.
- The Panthers’ power-play percentage (22.83) put them 10th in the league.
- In terms of shorthanded goals, the Panthers had six.
- At 75.95%, the Panthers had the 23rd-ranked penalty-kill percentage in the league.
- The Panthers won 48.9% of faceoffs, 21st in the NHL.
- The 9.5% shooting percentage of the Panthers was 22nd in the league.
- The Panthers shut out their opponents three times.
Panthers Key Players
- Matthew Tkachuk totaled 40 goals and 69 assists in 79 games for Florida last season, resulting in 109 points.
- Aleksander Barkov Jr. racked up 78 total points (1.0 per game) last campaign. He had 23 goals and 55 assists.
- Brandon Montour was a crucial player on offense for Florida with 16 goals and 57 assists.
- Anthony Stolarz was 5-6-0 last season, giving up 51 goals (0.9 goals against average) with an 89.676 save percentage (45th in the league).
Panthers Injuries
Matthew Tkachuk: Sternum (Out), Aaron Ekblad: Shoulder (Out), Brandon Montour: Shoulder (Out)
