Filip Gustavsson shuts out Florida in Minnesota Wild season opener
The dividends on the three-year contract extension Filip Gustavsson signed over the summer are paying off early as the 25-year-old goalie opened the 2023-24 season in style by leading the Minnesota Wild to a 2-0 shutout win over the defending Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers Thursday night in St. Paul.
Gustavsson made 41 saves, including eight when the Panthers were on the power play, for his fourth career shutout. He picked up right where he left off last season when his 2.10 goals-against average was second best in the NHL.
Minnesota was out-shot 41-21 but they made two of them count, including the first of the season by defenseman Brock Faber, the 21-year-old rookie whose first sips of the NHL game came in last season's playoffs. He fired a shot from the blue line through traffic and beat Sergei Bobrovsky for just shy of eight minutes into the first period.
Oct 12, 2023; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild defense Brock Faber (7) celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers with forward Matt Boldy (12) during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota took control in the second period with about 7:30 to go when Alex Goligoski’s ripped a shot from the left circle that rung the post and then 15 seconds later the Panthers were called for a tripping penalty that knocked Mats Zuccarello to the ice. Just eight seconds into the power play Joel Eriksson Ek banged home a deflection for a 2-0 lead.
The Wild appeared to go ahead 3-0 on a brilliant feed from Freddy Gaudreau to Marco Rossi but Florida challenged an offsides and won to wipe the goal off the scoreboard. It would've been Rossi's first career goal in the NHL.
The Wild killed off all three Florida power plays and held firm when the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the game.
Up next: Wild at Toronto, Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.
