Game Recap: Wild 4, Kraken 0

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Filip Gustavsson stopped all 34 shots faced for the Minnesota Wild in a 4-0 win against the Seattle Kraken at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday.

It was the 26-year-old goalie’s fifth shutout of the season, tied for second-most in the NHL.

“He's young and he looks good,” Wild forward Ryan Hartman said. “He's steady, he doesn't necessarily have to make too many flashy saves because he’s well-positioned out there. That's always a good sign of feeling the game.”

Matt Boldy scored twice, and Hartman and Liam Ohgren also scored for Minnesota (39-25-5), which has won two in a row and holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They trail the Colorado Avalanche by two points for third place in the Central Division.

“It’s nice, isn’t it? To be able to get a little bit of run support and then be able to play the game the right way,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “… I really liked our start. Then I thought we did a pretty good job the rest of the game to continue to play the right way, so it was a nice win for us.”

Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves for Seattle (30-35-5), which won 6-2 at the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

“It’s uncharacteristic of our team as of late,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “I feel like they came too easy, were Grade As against ‘Gruby.’ He made a couple of other big saves that kind of to keep it at three. Just too many early opportunities, too many easy opportunities for them and they got up in the game.”

The Wild scored three goals in a 1:42 span in the first period after going six consecutive games with no goals in the first.

Hartman made it 1-0 at 2:47, taking a centering pass from Zach Bogosian and beating Grubauer with a snap shot from the slot.

Boldy extended the lead 2-0 at 3:59 with his first goal in 11 games. He collected a loose puck just outside the right circle and skated to the slot for a wrist shot.

“It's good to see one go, for sure,” Boldy said. “But I think we've been playing great as a team and as a whole. To see a couple go in quick like that was nice for everyone out there. So, we just [need to] keep that going and keep playing great offensive hockey. I think we've done a great job on the defensive side. But hopefully that kind of breaks the seal a little bit and see a little bit more goals go in."

Ohgren, who was recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League under emergency circumstances after Marcus Johansson was a late scratch due to an illness, pushed it to 3-0 at 4:29 with a snap shot below the left circle on a 2-on-1 with Frederick Gaudreau.

“I want to be up here,” Ohgren said after his first appearance for the Wild since Feb. 28. “I want to play and I want to contribute on the highest level. I just play and see what happens.”

Boldy scored an empty-net goal for the 4-0 final at 18:23.

“Time to catch our breath,” Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz said. “There’s still a lot of hockey left to be played, there was time for us to come back. Just take a breath, try to get to our game, get our feet moving.”

NOTES: Wild forward Marco Rossi was hit by a shot from Boldy at 6:02 of the first period and did not return due to a lower-body injury. No update was provided postgame. … Seattle forward Chandler Stephenson left at the end of the second period with an undisclosed injury. Bylsma did not have an update postgame.