Florida put 41 shots on Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson but couldn't get one past him

The Florida Panthers came out cooking on Opening Night against the Minnesota Wild.

Unfortunately for the defending Eastern Conference Champions, they couldn’t deliver a victory despite the promising road start.

Florida outshot the home team 41-21 but gave up a power-play goal while failing to score on three power-play opportunities of their own.

The Panthers were ultimately shutout 2-0 by Minnesota in front of a raucous Excel Energy Center crowd.

Florida started the night on fire, outshooting the Wild 10-2 before the game’s first TV timeout.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop them from having to attempt the familiar task of coming from behind.

The Wild’s third shot of the game, a wrist shot from the point by rookie Brock Faber, sailed past a screened Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Wild up 1-0 at the 7:54 mark.

Things would even out after the opening goal, as Minnesota began to generate extended zone time at the expense of the Panthers.

Florida ended up losing the special teams battle, a familiar issue that was a common occurrence during last season’s struggles, and that proved to be the difference on Thursday.

That, and an excellent effort in goal by Filip Gustavsson.

He stopped 41 Florida shots, including 15 during the third period.

Here are some thoughts and observations from Thursday’s game:

The top line of Sasha Barkov centering Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues has some serious potential. They combined for 11 shots on 22 attempts. 

Oliver Ekman-Larsson looked great. He was very active on both ends of the ice, showing a good defensive stick and the offensive skills he’s built his career on.

Rookie Mackie Samoskevich had some very impressive moments during his NHL debut. His speed was apparent, as were his puck skills. He got banged around a bit, so how he responds to the physical toll of playing in the NHL will be something to keep an eye on.

Another rookie, defenseman Uvis Balikskis, showed up on both ends of the ice. He made several nice defensive plays, showing physicality and using his body, while also making confident moves at the offensive blue line and showing he knows when to drive with the puck.

The Panthers top power play can cook. 

LATEST THN FLORIDA STORIES

Sam Bennett not on road trip with Panthers but 'won't be too much longer'

Fully healed and hungry to win, Matthew Tkachuk ready to lead Panthers into new season

Florida Panthers open 2023-24 season with tough road matchup against Minnesota Wild

Rookie Justin Sourdif 'super excited' to start NHL journey with Florida Panthers

'I want to be a key player': Anton Lundell looks bigger, stronger, ready to take next step