Wild 4, Panthers 1: Jason Zucker scored twice for his second career multi-goal performance as visiting Minnesota skated to its fifth win in six outings.

Nino Niederreiter netted his sixth goal in as many contests, Zach Parise added an empty-net tally and captain Mikko Koivu notched pair of assists for his 107th career multi-point effort for the Wild. Niklas Backstrom finished with 29 saves to improve to 6-0-1 against Florida.

Shawn Thornton scored his first goal of the season for the Panthers, who have dropped three of their last four (1-2-1). Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov had an assist and Roberto Luongo turned aside 34 shots.

Koivu stole the puck from Jimmy Hayes and wired a sharp feed from the left-wing boards to Zucker, who beat Luongo from the right circle to open the scoring 5:58 into the first period. Florida captain Willie Mitchell's miscue led to a breakaway for Niederreiter, who backhanded the puck under the crossbar for his team-leading 10th goal with 2:17 left in the session.

Thornton's redirection of Kulikov's shot from the point trimmed the deficit 5:34 into the second period. Zucker, who finished with a career-high nine shots, answered with his second goal of the night and third in three games as he skated in from the left corner and backhanded the puck past Luongo with 2:41 remaining in the session.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida C Nick Bjugstad saw his four-game point streak come to an end. He had collected five goals and three assists during that stretch. ... Minnesota failed on all three power-play opportunities to drop to 6-for-65 on the season - including 1-for-41 on the road. ... Panthers LW Sean Bergenheim registered a team-high five shots in his return from a 10-game absence due to a core injury.