The Florida Panthers are off to a hot start this season.
If they want to keep it going, they will have to do so without a veteran leader for the foreseeable future.
Florida will try to push its points streak to five games when it faces off against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday evening in Sunrise, Fla. It will be the first game for the Panthers since losing Brad Marchand to a lower-body injury.
On Friday, Panthers coach Paul Maurice announced Marchand is expected to miss about six weeks because of the injury. Marchand went down after he crashed into the goal post Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings and immediately grabbed his left knee.
“When they go down and you see that, you’re worried,” Maurice said.
If there is any good news in the announcement, it is that Marchand is expected to return around late November with plenty of time remaining in the regular season. The Panthers also expect to get back injured forward Aleksander Barkov around that time.
“Glass-half-full situation,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said.
Florida has provided plenty of reason for optimism to start the 2026-27 campaign. They have points in all four of their games with two victories and two overtime losses.
Minnesota was in a similar spot until its most recent game, when it sustained its first regulation loss of the season. The Wild lost 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning after posting two victories and an overtime loss in their first three games.
Quinn Hughes leads the Wild with six points (two goals, four assists) in his first four games. Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with three goals to go along with one assist.
One player looking to get on the scoresheet Saturday will be Wild forward Matt Boldy, who has zero points through four games. He scored 42 goals a season ago.
“It is what it is,” Boldy said. “Can’t go back in time and change these games, so I’ve just got to be ready for the next one and find a way to make a difference.”
Wild coach John Hynes said he has no doubt that Boldy will find the net soon.
“You have to deal with the hand you’re dealt,” Hynes said. “Right now, it’s not going in easy for him. But he’s got to be and he is a guy that tries to help the team win and play the right way. He’s too good of a player not to, and I don’t think his game is faltering by any means.
“It’s not like he’s not getting any looks or getting himself in situations to be able to do it, and that’s what you have to deal with.”
Florida will likely turn to Jacob Markstrom in net. He is 2-0-1 with a 1.27 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage this season, and he is 10-3-2 with a 2.18 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 16 career games against the Wild.
Jesper Wallstedt is the likely starter for Minnesota. He is 2-1-1 with a 1.98 GAA and a .927 save percentage this season, and he is 1-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .900 save percentage in his lone career start against Florida.
