Jason Zucker Powers Wild Past Panthers, 4-1

Jason Zucker’s two goal night along with Niklas Backström’s 29 saves powered the Minnesota Wild past the hot Florida Panthers, 4-1.

Good evening Wild fans. Tonight, the Wild completed their 3 game road trip by pouncing on the Panthers early and often. Nino Niederreiter had a gorgeous breakaway, Jason Zucker had 9 of the Wild’s 39 shots, and Mikko Koivu played quite well. Before we get to my notes, don’t forget to check out Tyler’s game preview. The guy has a 6th sense about predictions, I swear. After the Tampa Bay game, I made a mention of the Wild’s inability to play a full 60 minutes. Tonight, they did just that in impressive fashion. The Florida Panthers are playing great hockey lately, so on paper it looked like a great match up.

First Period:

Florida registered the first shot on goal around 30 seconds in. From there, it was all Wild.

Jimmy Hayes and Keith Ballard took offsetting minors about a minute in. Nothing really happened, though. The Wild need to work on their 4-on-4 I think. Jason Zucker had the lone shot on goal by either team in 4-on-4 play.

Just five minutes in, Jimmy Haye’s clearing attempt got stolen by  Koivu along the wall. Koivu turned and dropped a cross-ice pass to Zucker in the right face-off circle. From there, Zucker fired a laser through Roberto Luongo’s 5-hole.  1-0 Wild at 05:58 of the first period. Take a look at the beautiful shot:

The Wild seemed to never look back. The Panthers had a few chances, but a truly dominant period by the Wild set them apart early.

The Wild had a chance at the power play midway through the first. Both power play units looked okay but didn’t convert.

In the waning minutes of the first, Nino Niederreiter added his 10th goal of the year on a breakaway. Willie Mitchell couldn’t quite handle the puck cleanly in the neutral zone, leaving it wide open for Nino. Nino Turned on the jets and roofed a backhander over Luongo’s glove. Nino’s backhand has really improved and the shot was absolutely beautiful. 2-0 Wild at 17:43 of the first period. Have a look:

Niederreiter’s 10 goals have come in the last 13 games. The Kid is absolutely on fire, proving he’s worth his contract extension and a 5th overall draft pick.

The Wild would end the opening period on the power play.

Shots after one period: Minnesota Wild 14, Florida Panthers 5. By the way, Jason Zucker was responsible for 5 of those 14.

Second Period:

After a very long opening shift, including about a minute of power play time, Jason Pominville took a tripping penalty in the offensive zone. Florida managed 2 shots on goal. Backstrom played well, managing great rebound control.

The Panthers pulled to within one thanks to Shawn Thornton’s goal. Originally waved dead by the on-ice officials due to a high stick; a review by the NHL war room in Toronto showed Thornton’s stick was below the cross-bar. Good goal for Thornton makes it 2-1 Wild at 05:34 of the second period. 

More from Wild News

• Defenseman Matt Dumba signs one-year contract with Arizona
• Minnesota Wild reach agreement with Brandon Duhaime on one-year contract
• Minnesota Wild receive mixed grades for picks in NHL Entry Draft
• Minnesota Wild draft heavy on centers and home-state selections
• Minnesota Wild open regular season at home against Stanley Cup Finalist

Minnesota got its 3rd and final chance on the power play 8 minutes in. The only legitimate scoring chance came from a shorthanded breakaway by Scottie Upshall. Luckily, Backstrom caught it with his blocker.

Several times tonight, a flying Jason Zucker beat out icing for the Wild, including twice in the second.

Speaking of seconds, Zucker added his second goal of the night thanks to an aggressive forecheck and another assist by the Captain. Just like Nino, Zucker roofed a backhand over Luongo’s glove.

3-1 Wild at 17:19 of the second period.

Shots after two periods: Minnesota Wild 30, Florida Panthers 14.

Third Period:

I was nearly positive the Panthers were going to tie the game early in the third. The Wild were pinned in their own zone for nearly 8 minutes to open the period, I thought Nick Bjugstad had a great third period. Again, Backstrom played very well for a guy that got pulled from the crease in his last start, stopping all 16 shots in the final frame.

Niederreiter got completely robbed by Luongo in the third. Magically, Luongo managed to stop Nino’s shot while flat on his back. He also robbed Justin Fontaine’s bid shortly after.

Zach Parise added an empty net goal for insurance making it 4-1 Wild at 18:31 of the third period.

Not much else to report here, as the Wild hold on to win.

Final shots on goal: Minnesota Wild 39, Florida Panthers 30

Trembley’s Take:

Mikko Koivu registered his first multi-point game of the season thanks to tenacity by a buzzing Jason Zucker.

Speaking of, I can’t say enough about Zucker tonight. He’s up to eight goals on the year and tied with Parise for 2nd on the team. He also had a hit and a takeaway. Zucker’s 9 shots on goal sets a career high for the young winger. Zucker’s time with Koivu seems to be paying off and I’m excited to see what the future holds for him. If only he could have pulled off the hat trick.

Backstrom had his best performance of the night, stopping 29 of 30 shots for a 0.967 save percentage.

Niederreiter continues his hot streak with his team leading 10 goals.

I’m a little bummed by the fans in South Florida. They’re playing great hockey and the fans still aren’t coming. I hope that turns around for them, because hockey is the greatest sport in the world and it should be enjoyed by everyone.

The Wild move to 12-8-0 on the season, good enough for 4th place in the Central and 8th in the Western Conference. They take on the  Los Angeles Kings Wednesday.  I’ll be live at that game from my perch above the ice, so give me a follow on twitter for live updates.