Kirill Kaprizov Hat Trick Powers Wild Past Panthers

Kirill Kaprizov took over the Panthers' home opener. The Wild star scored three goals and added an assist as Minnesota beat Florida 4-1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday night, capping the hat trick with an empty-netter with 1:04 left, per NHL.com.

That is a big bounce-back for a Wild team that came in on a two-game skid, including a 3-2 loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday. Minnesota is now 3-1-1. Florida drops to 2-1-2, and its four-game point streak to open the season is over. The Panthers had also won seven straight home openers before this one.

How Kaprizov built the hat trick

This game was basically over before Panthers fans settled in. Matt Boldy scored 53 seconds into the first period, walking into the zone during a Florida line change and snapping a wrist shot past Jacob Markstrom from the top of the slot. Kaprizov had the secondary assist.

Then Kaprizov went to work. He made it 2-0 on the power play at 6:18 of the first, hammering a one-timer from the right face-off circle. Matthew Tkachuk got one back at 2:18 of the second by putting his own rebound in at the side of the net, but Kaprizov answered at 5:00 with a wrist shot from the right circle off a cross-ice feed from Boldy. The empty-netter in the final minute sealed it.

"From the start, (Boldy) scored on the first shift," Kaprizov said. "The boys played a great game."

It was the seventh hat trick of his career, two behind Marian Gaborik's nine for the most in Wild history. It was also his fifth four-point game, tying Mats Zuccarello and Boldy for second most in franchise history behind Gaborik's seven, per NHL.com. If you drafted Kaprizov in fantasy, this is exactly the kind of night you were waiting for.

Wallstedt slams the door

Jesper Wallstedt made 29 saves for Minnesota, and Tkachuk's rebound goal was the only thing that got past him. Florida also went 0-for-5 on the power play and is now 1-for-28 on the season.

"It was 2-0 before you could blink, so we were chasing the game one shift in basically," Tkachuk said. "That is not the recipe you want for success."

Panthers coach Paul Maurice did not sugarcoat it either. "We were just slower than they were," he said. "We were slow in all parts of our game."

Wild coach John Hynes called it "the most complete game we have played of the five" and a great way to end a road trip. Markstrom made 25 saves for Florida.

A measuring stick win

Florida is still missing pieces, including injured captain Aleksander Barkov, and forward Eetu Luostarinen left in the third period after taking a shot off the leg. Maurice said he would be evaluated Sunday. Aaron Ekblad did pass Barkov for the most games played in franchise history at 807.

Boldy summed up why this one mattered for Minnesota. "That is a team that has won. Their core hasn't changed much," he said. "To be able to compare ourselves to them is huge." When Kaprizov is scoring like this, the Wild look like they belong in that conversation.