3 Takeaways as Minnesota Wild beat the Florida Panthers in a 10-goal thriller

The Minnesota Wild may be watching their slim playoff chances slip away, but like they say, it's not over until it's over, and they picked up two valuable points with a 6-4 win over the Florida Panthers on Friday night.

---

Minnesota Wild vs. Florida Panthers: 3 takeaways from the 10-goal thriller

#1 Minnesota ties a franchise record with five powerplay goals

On three previous occasions in franchise history, the Wild have scored five powerplay goals in a game, adding another night to the record book with five consecutive man-advantage goals against the Panthers. Kirill Kaprizov had two special teams goals, while Ryan Hartman had the team's only even-strength lamplighter in the final 12 seconds.

In the end, the Wild were 83% on the powerplay, going 5 for 6, while the Panthers finished 0 for 4. Overall, it was a penalty-filled affair, with Minnesota racking up 22 minutes, with Florida collecting 26 minutes.

#2 Panthers drop fourth straight game after record nine-game win streak

The Panthers had a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final last year and had a decent start to the 2023-24 season. Despite the face of the franchise, Matthew Tkachuk, not being on pace for 100 points again, Florida kept winning games and maintaining a playoff spot, not looking to sneak into the postseason on the last day.

Recently, the team won nine straight games from Dec. 23 to Jan. 11, but since last defeating the LA Kings, the Panthers have dropped their previous four contests, including last night. Although two of those losses came in overtime, Florida is 0-2-2 since the streak and has been outscored 11-18.

Even after hitting another bump on the road of a long NHL season, the Panthers' recent win streak gave them a buffer of six points in the standings.

#3 Usually, defensive-minded Minnesota go offensive for a night

The Wild have never been known to be an offensive-minded team, even with Kaprizov in the lineup. Since its inception, Minnesota has always been a defense-first team that turns its goalies into All-Stars. The franchise record for goals in a game is eight goals, achieved in 2004, but the Wild have come close to breaking that with seven this past October.

In the game against the Panthers, they scored more than five goals for the fourth time this season and the eighth time in the past two seasons. Surprisingly, they achieved the feat against one of the top teams in the NHL, who came into the game as the sixth-best team in the standings.

Ultimately, nights when Minnesota scores more than five goals are special for a franchise focusing on defense first.