Oct 10, 2026 9:32 PM
Updated Oct 10, 2026 9:36 PM

The Minnesota Wild face the Florida Panthers on Saturday night with both Foligno brothers out of the lineup, Rieger Lorenz potentially making his NHL debut and several changes to their forward combinations.

The Minnesota Wild will look to get back in the win column Saturday night when they take on the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.

Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.

Minnesota enters the matchup with a 2-1-1 record through its first four games, while Florida sits at 2-0-2 and has yet to suffer a regulation loss this season.

The Wild will have a different look up front as they continue to navigate injuries early in the 2026-27 season.

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Both Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno are out of the projected lineup, creating opportunities for other forwards to take on additional responsibilities.

One of those players is Rieger Lorenz, who was recalled from the Iowa Wild on Friday and is expected to make his NHL debut against Florida.

The 22-year-old forward was Minnesota's second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and is coming off a successful collegiate career at the University of Denver, where he won two national championships.

Lorenz is projected to skate on Minnesota's fourth line alongside Nico Sturm and Michael McCarron.

The Wild have also made changes to their top six.

Kirill Kaprizov is expected to skate alongside Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy on Minnesota's top line, while Blake Coleman, Ryan Hartman and Maxim Shabanov make up the second line.

Boldy enters Saturday still searching for his first point of the season. However, the matchup against Florida could provide an opportunity for the 25-year-old to break through.

In nine career games against the Panthers, Boldy has recorded three goals and seven assists for 10 points.

Kaprizov has also enjoyed success against Florida throughout his career, recording six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 10 games.

On the blue line, Olli Maatta is back after missing one game and will be back with Jonas Brodin. Daemon Hunt and David Spacek will stay as a defense pair as well. Zach Bogosian is banged up and out.

Hughes has been one of Minnesota's most productive players through four games, recording two goals and four assists for six points.

In goal, Jesper Wallstedt is the projected starter for Minnesota, although the Wild have yet to officially confirm their starting goaltender.

Florida is expected to counter with Jacob Markstrom, who has been excellent to begin the season.

Markstrom enters Saturday with a 2-0-1 record, a 1.27 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

For Minnesota, Saturday's matchup presents another early-season test against a Panthers team that has collected points in each of its first four games.

With several forwards unavailable and a potential NHL debut on the horizon, the Wild will need contributions throughout their lineup as they look to secure their third victory of the season.

Wild Projected Lineup

Kirill Kaprizov - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy

Blake Coleman - Ryan Hartman -  Maxim Shabanov

Yakov Trenin - Danila Yurov - Bobby Brink

Nico Sturm - Michael McCarron - Rieger Lorentz

Defense:

Quinn Hughes - Jared Spurgeon

Olli Maatta - Jonas Brodin

Daemon Hunt - David Spacek

Starting Goaltender: Jesper Wallstedt (projected)

Scratched: Matt Kiersted

Injured: Marcus Foligno (Lower-Body), Brock Faber (Upper-Body, Indefinitely), Filip Gustavsson (Lower-Body, LTIR), Nick Foligno (Upper-Body, Day-To-Day), Zach Bogosian (Lower-Body, Day-To-Day).

Panthers Projected Lineup

Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk

Brady Tkachuk - Lars Eller - Sam Reinhart

Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Sandis Vilmanis

Bokondji Imama - Sam Lafferty - Garnet Hathaway

Defense:

Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola - Seth Jones

Dmitry Kulikov - Radko Gudas

Starting Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom

Scratched: Uvis Balinskis 

Injured: Aleksander Barkov (Lower-Body), Brad Marchand (Lower-Body), Jonah Gadjovich (Upper-Body).

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