Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 3, Bruins 2

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night:

1. A 'Bold' move
Making a return to his homestate, just down the road from his hometown of Millis and a stone's throw from where he played college hockey, in front of more than a dozen friends, family and former Boston College teammates, Matt Boldy looks like he belongs in the National Hockey League.
For that matter, so did fellow top prospect Marco Rossi, who like Boldy, made his NHL debut on Thursday night. It was the second time this season the Wild had a pair of players making the solo rookie lap to kickoff pregame warmies.
It didn't take long for the dynamic duo to make an impact either. For Rossi, it took all of one second into his first shift, drawing a penalty on former Wild defenseman Mike Reilly to allow Minnesota a chance to get some early momentum.

For Boldy, he became the 10th player in Wild history to score his first NHL goal in his first NHL game, finishing off a pretty give-and-go with Marcus Foligno in the second period to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead.

"A good one to get in," Boldy said. "A surreal moment for sure having it be here with all my friends and family.
"It started with a pretty sweet pass from [Jonas] Brodin in the neutral zone. Then kind of passed it off to Moose there and he made an unbelievable pass game to me. It was one of the best passes I've had in awhile so I just had to shoot it into the back of the net.
"I think I blacked out after I scored. I can't tell you much about after. I just remember the guys coming in and kind of screaming and smiling."
The goal would end up being the game-winning marker as well.

"I think it's big for confidence. Just in general being able to get one early and get it off my chest. Just being able to go into games now knowing that's not as much of a worry I guess is kind of a positive," Boldy said. "Just confidence wise for me, that's been big my whole life, playing with confidence, and getting that first goal really helps that."

Even on plays where he wasn't rewarded on the scoresheet, Boldy more than looked the part. The Wild's second goal was set-up, in part, by Boldy retrieving a puck to keep a possession in the offensive zone alive. While on the power play, a loose puck near the top of the offensive zone laid in a 50/50 area, and Boldy won a race for the puck. A few seconds later, the Wild got a chance in the crease, and eventually a faceoff, which was won back to the point and fired into the cage.
It's a goal that doesn't happen if Boldy loses the puck battle and Boston gets an easy clear and line change.
Tweet from @mnwildScribe: So, based on Matt Boldy's comments postgame about how his buddies "raided his closet," I'm guessing this must be them? If so, that is one fun photo to share with your boys. pic.twitter.com/aX6sNdleuu
Both Boldy and Rossi were on the ice late as Minnesota was defending a one-goal lead on the road against one of the NHL's top teams. That says all you need to know about the level of trust Wild head coach Dean Evason already has in the two youngsters, as each played a big part in the Wild snapping its five-game losing streak and earning its first victory in nearly a calendar month.
"Yeah this was a hard-fought team effort for sure," said Wild forward Mats Zuccarello, who finished with an assist. "Everyone who plays stepped up. It was a solid effort and we needed this win. It was a tough stretch for us there. It was a good relief to win there."
2. Finishing on the 5-on-3
The tone for this one was set in the first period, when both clubs were provided the ever-rare opportunity to skate with full two-minute, 5-on-3 power plays.
Boston took a penalty late in their own chance to turn things into a 4-on-3, a power play which the Bruins would actually convert on when Taylor Hall banked a shot off Jonas Brodin's skate and through the five hole of Kaapo Kahkonen.

Later in the period, it was the Wild's turn for the extended two-man advantage and Minnesota converted twice to take a 2-1 lead into the break.
Kirill Kaprizov tallied the first goal, ripping home a pretty feed from Mats Zuccarello on a one-timer from the right circle.

A few seconds later, Brodin's blast from the point was deflected in front by Nico Sturm, who was credited with his first career power-play goal (and first power-play point, for that matter). Connor Dewar, who replaced Sturm in the faceoff circle after he was tossed just a couple seconds prior, earned the second assist for his first NHL point in his fifth NHL game.
"Even after that first power play, on the bench, there was a feeling of, 'we generated here off of that first one [that didn't score].' So there was a good feeling right after. The guys just stayed the course," Evason said. "We got more pucks through than we normally have. We talked about simplifying it, and it came up real good for us here tonight."
3. Can't catch a break
The Wild hasn't played much in recent weeks, and won't get back into the meat of its schedule for another week or two, and maybe that's a good thing when assessing the overall health of the club right now.
Minnesota skated with 11 forwards on Thursday after Brandon Duhaime was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list earlier in the day, joining Jordan Greenway on the list.

The Wild is already without Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon, who have been hurt for the past couple of weeks, and goaltender Cam Talbot, who was hurt in the Winter Classic. Nick Bjugstad was injured in practice on Tuesday and did not make the trip to Boston.
On Thursday, it was Kaprizov falling victim to the injury bug, sustaining an upper-body injury midway through the second period following a, let's say ... questionable ... hit by Bruins forward Trent Frederic.

"I think it shows the character of our group," Evason said. "There's guys that weren't on the power-play unit that could be upset, but they're not. They're like, 'OK, that's what the team feels is the best way for us to have success,' and they just go about their business. It's a huge credit to our veteran group in there."
Kaprizov was declared out for the game at the start of the third period, which certainly isn't a great sign. Evason didn't have a specific update on Kaprizov afterward, only saying it "didn't look good," but hopefully there will be some positive feedback in that regard following a scheduled practice back in St. Paul on Friday.
Still, the Wild couldn't afford to sulk. And to its credit, it didn't.

"I think you're going to lose every game if you think that way," said Wild defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. "It's just the 'next guy' mentality, every guy that's coming in has to fill a role and does his part in helping the team to win."
A bit of good news: Brodin returned from the COVID-19 list on Thursday night, had two assists and was his normal outstanding self in the defensive end.
"Every team goes through it with injuries and COVID," Zuccarello said. "That's part of it. Everyone comes in and fills their part and we have to move forward. Obviously losing your top player in both ends, people that kill penalties or people that score goals are equally important, so whoever we miss on the team we're going to miss."

Loose pucks

• Making his first start since Dec. 11, Kahkonen finished with 36 saves in a winning effort
• Dewar's assist on Sturm's goal was his first NHL point
• Kevin Fiala also had an assist
• Ryan Hartman had a team-high four shots on goal
• Brad Marchand scored Boston's second goal, also on the power play
• Reilly, Patrice Bergeron, Erik Haula and Matt Grzelcyk each tallied assists
• Boston netminder Jeremy Swayman had 27 saveson 30 shots

Dan's three stars

1. Matt Boldy
   2. Kaapo Kahkonen
   3. Jonas Brodin

Highlights