Erik Haula blocked a shot and roared past the Florida Panthers defense to score the go-ahead goal10:29 into the third period to spark the Minnesota Wild to a 3-1 win over the visiting Cats, a team currently in transition after Saturday’s trades.
Charlie Coyle opened the scoring, beating starter Al Montoya early in the first period. Montoya would leave the game after his head collided with the incoming shoulder of Marco Scandella.
The Panthers evened the game in the second period courtesy of a power-play goal from sophomore defenseman Aaron Ekblad, with the helpers going to Jussi Jokinen and red-hot Aleksander Barkov.
Jason Pominville complted the scoring with a power-play marker into an empty net with 39 seconds left in regulation.
Roberto Luongo took the loss in relief, finishing with 21 stops on 22 shots. Devan Dubnyk was only tested three times in third period on his way to the win.
Florida’s five-game road trip continues on Tuesday with game in Winnipeg versus the Jets.