Game Recap: Wild 3, Panthers 2

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Joel Eriksson Ek scored with five seconds remaining, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.

Following a face-off in the left circle, Eriksson Ek deflected a Brock Faber point shot, then lifted in his own rebound from the slot while falling to the ice.

Aaron Ekblad had tied it 2-2 for Florida with 1:13 left, scoring on a one-timer from the left circle with Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov pulled for the extra attacker.

“You can’t let your emotions get too high or too low, just try and stay in the game,” Eriksson Ek said. “They scored a goal, so just try to come back and get the next one. I wasn’t thinking too much there, just tried to shoot and get above his pads. (Tarasov) made some great saves.”

Tarasov tied a career-high with 47 saves.

“Everyone was happy to come back from 2-0,” Tarasov said of the feeling when Ekblad tied it. “Then with (five) seconds left to give up the third goal, it’s disappointing. Just frustration now.”

Marcus Foligno scored in his return after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury, and Ryan Hartman also scored for Minnesota (41-20-12), which has won three of its past five. Jesper Wallstedt made 18 saves.

The third-place Wild moved within three points of the Dallas Stars for second place in the Central Division.

“I thought we did a good job responding, ended it in the offensive zone,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “One face-off, we drill it to the net front and we had some presence. It was good. I thought tonight, we played a pretty solid game. … The response after the goal, set us up to give us a chance to win the game.”

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist for Florida (35-33-3), which has lost four of six.

“He was unreal, the best player on both teams tonight,” Tkachuk said of Tarasov. “I’m more frustrated that we lost for him because he put on an all-world effort for us tonight and kept us in the game. We wanted to reward him with finally playing a bit better in the third.”

After outshooting the Panthers 19-6 in the first period, the Wild made it 1-0 at 2:47 of the second. Yakov Trenin drove toward the net and sent a backhanded pass through the slot to a wide-open Foligno, who put it between the skates of Tarasov.

Foligno was playing with older brother Nick Foligno for the first time in the NHL. Nick was traded to the Wild by the Chicago Blackhawks on March 6.

“I think we deserved that game. They are still a good team, they play with that pace,” Marcus Foligno said. “When you’re loose, it’s sometimes tough to play against teams like this. There was a lot of movement and there were times where we should have been simpler. But we were good; had a lot of shots on net, lot of great offensive-zone plays.”

Nick Foligno said it was “awesome” playing with his younger brother for the first time.

“Just the look over and seeing Marcus on the bench, we had a look-over, and had a laugh,” Nick said. “It’s really special for our family, for us. I think we appreciate it more now just where we’re at, knowing the opportunity we have in front of us is special.”

Hartman pushed the lead to 2-0 at 18:25. He got the puck near the left post off a turnover by Dmitry Kulikov behind the net and scored over a diving Tarasov.

Tkachuk cut the deficit to 2-1 at 42 seconds of the third period, deflecting a point shot from Gustav Forsling.

“They were on us pretty good,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “And we said, ‘Don’t quit, stay in the fight.’ We score early in the third, find a way to tie it late, then just can’t hang on to it at the end. Hockey games, it’s painful when you’re right there.”

The Panthers played most of the game down a forward after center Evan Rodrigues left with what Maurice said was a broken finger at 1:14 of the first. He played one shift.

Maurice said Rodrigues will find out Monday if he needs surgery; regardless, the coach said the forward will likely be out for at least a couple of weeks.

“The most dangerous job in sports, right now, is playing for the Florida Panthers,” Maurice said.

Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon left the game at 3:30 of the third after appearing to be cut by his visor when he slid headfirst into Wallstedt during a collision with Florida forward Noah Gregor.

Hynes said Spurgeon got “a few stitches” and should be OK.

NOTES: Eriksson Ek scored the latest go-ahead goal in Wild history, eclipsing the previous best set by Marcus Foligno (eight seconds left) in a 2-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 15, 2021 (59:52). … Tarasov made 47 saves twice while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets: in a 5-3 win against the Panthers on Nov. 20, 2022, and a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on March 9, 2024. His previous high this season was 37 in a 6-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 13.