• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Koivu, Miettinen help Wild pummel Panthers

Oct 17, 2008 - 4:10 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Wild are pretty dangerous, even when they are not at full strength.

Captain Mikko Koivu scored a goal and set up four others while Antti Miettinen added two power-play tallies and an assist as the Wild cruised to a 6-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Defensemen Nick Boynton and Karlis Skrastins scored for Florida, which was outshot, 17-9, in the second period. Meanwhile, Benoit Pouliot had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who had no problem scoring despite missing star right wing Marian Gaborik and two other key offensive players.

"You find a way to win through adversity," Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire said. "You challenge the players, and it's up to them to respond."

Andrew Brunette and defenseman Kim Johnsson also tallied and Niklas Backstrom stopped 24 shots for Minnesota, which also was without center Pierre-Marc Bouchard and right wing Owen Nolan due to injuries.

Gaborik, who set franchise records for goals (42) and points (83) last season, sat out with a lower body injury. Bouchard missed the contest with back spasms, while Nolan also was sidelined with a lower body ailment.

The Wild did not miss a beat thanks to Koivu and Miettinen.

"They jell really well together," Lemaire said. "It's fun to see that. You pass the puck and do all the little things on the ice and you get good results."

"We combined our speed and our skills to get it done tonight," Brunette said. "It's been a trademark of Wild hockey to start the season strong, and we're doing that again."

Miettinen put Minnesota up, 3-1, by one-timing a pass from Koivu into the left corner of the net with 6:31 left in the second. The Finn, who set a career high with 15 goals while with Dallas last season, has five in his first three games of this campaign.

"We work well together out there. It's pretty amazing the way our instincts are," Koivu said of playing with his countryman. "You have to enjoy it while it's there."

"There's definitely a chemistry," Miettinen added. "I wouldn't say it's something we'll have every night, but certainly we created chances for each other. You communicate, and hopefully something positive happens."

The Panthers struck just 73 seconds after Miettinen's goal, when Skrastins' slap shot found its way through traffic and into the top right corner.

However, Pouliot made it 4-2 when he deposited a shot under goaltender Tomas Vokoun's glove with 3:12 left in the second. That spelled the end of the night for Vokoun, who stopped 18 shots.

Miettinen put the game out of reach 6:21 into the third, when he tipped a shot by Koivu from the top of the right faceoff circle past netminder Craig Anderson. Koivu capped his terrific night when he beat Anderson between the pads during a man advantage with four minutes left in the third.

The Wild, who went 3-for-6 on the power play, struck first as Brunette's one-timer with 8:10 to go in the first beat Vokoun. Johnsson doubled the lead 2:58 into the second.

"Everyone is doing their job, that's the difference," Lemaire said of Minnesota's power play. "We came out ready to skate and really got it going."

Boynton halved the deficit less than two minutes later with his first goal of the campaign.

Anderson stopped 10 shots for the Panthers, who were 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

"A pretty disappointing effort," Florida coach Peter DeBoer said. "We played pretty well for the first 20 minutes, but then it went downhill quickly. We got what we deserved."