Before the season started, the Wild answered a lot of questions about starting better than they did last fall, when they won just three of their first 10 games and spent the rest of the season vainly chasing a playoff spot.

Yes, the players agreed, we need to start better this season — and now they’re doing it.

Five Wild players scored goals, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson continued what has been the best start of his NHL career as Minnesota hammered the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, 5-1, at Amerant Arena in Sunrise, Fla.

Four games into a run of seven straight road games that continues Thursday night in Tampa Bay, the Wild are 4-0-2.

Gustavsson stopped 24 of 25 shots to improve to 4-0-1 with a 1.40 goals against average in five starts as the Wild played their sixth game this season without training in regulation. Their streak of 360 minutes without trailing — their losses were in overtime and a shootout — is the second-longest run to start a season in NHL history.

They passed the 1990-921 Boston Bruins (301:41) early in the first period and trail only the Bruins who played 457:21 without trailing to begin the 1969-70 season.

Marco Rossi and Marcus Johansson scored to send the Wild into the second period with a 2-0 lead, and Matt Boldy, Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek scored in the second to send them into the third leading 5-1.

Boldy deflected a shot by Zuccarello at the tail end of a power play, Minnesota’s sixth goal in 17 power-play chances.

Sam Bennett scored on a 2-on-1 rush for Florida, which entered the game on a four-game points streak. That made it 3-1 with 11:19 left in the period. Just more than 2 minutes later Zuccarello scored on a snap shot from the right circle before Sergei Bobrovsky, lured out of his crease by Kirill Kaprizov, could jump back into his net to make it 4-1.

Briefly

Defenseman Jared Spurgeon, whose season was interrupted after two games because of a setback related to winter hip and back surgeries, has begun skating in Minnesota. “I think the fact that he’s up and skating is a positive,” Hynes told reporters in Sunrise, Fla., Tuesday, “So, we’ll just take it day by day.” … Ryan Hartman was unavailable against the Panthers because of an upper body injury. He missed last Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Columbus, as well.

Related Articles

Wild start hasn’t followed usual trail

Wild beat Columbus, 3-1, to extend points streak to five games

Wild goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt finally set to start — for Iowa

Goal puts Wild’s Filip Gustavsson in elite company

Short-handed Wild earn another point in 2-1 OT loss at Winnipeg