Matt Boldy absolutely went off for his fifth career hat trick, powering the Minnesota Wild to a wild 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Talk about a statement game! Kirill Kaprizov added his league-high ninth goal and chipped in two assists, showing exactly why this Wild top line is pure fire right now.
Boldy and Kaprizov Are Just Unstoppable Together
You gotta hand it to Matt Boldy, the guy is a scoring machine. His fifth career hat trick wasn’t just some lucky bounces either. He started with a one-timer in the first period, then scooped one up off a turnover early in the second. But the best part? That incredible no-look backhand pass from Kaprizov that Boldy hammered home from near the left dot to give the Wild a 5-2 lead late in the second. Hats were flying onto the ice like crazy, and honestly, you love to see it. This dude is the third-fastest active American skater to hit five hat tricks, doing it in just 369 games. Only Tage Thompson of Buffalo (279 games) and Jason Robertson of Dallas (363) beat him to it. That’s elite company, folks.
And let’s not forget Kaprizov. He leads the league with nine goals already, and he’s been on a tear, too, with five goals in the past four games, including a hat trick last Saturday against Florida and both goals in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at Winnipeg. This top line, with Boldy, Kaprizov, and Joel Eriksson Ek, has collectively bagged 12 goals in their last four games. That’s not just good, that’s scary good for opposing defenses.
Hughes Rewrites the Record Books as the Wild Keep Rolling
It wasn’t just the forwards making headlines either. Quinn Hughes had two assists, and get this: he just established a new franchise record for the longest season-opening point streak at eight games! Hughes, who actually fed Boldy for his first goal of the night, is only the third defenseman in NHL history to open a season with an assist streak of at least eight games. Colorado’s John-Michael Liles holds the record at nine in 2010-11, and Ottawa’s Filip Kuba also had eight in 2008-09. That’s some serious history right there. Danila Yurov also got on the scoreboard for the Wild, and Jesper Wallstedt came up big with 20 saves to seal the win. This team has won three of their last four, and you can feel the momentum building.
The Blues, to their credit, didn’t quit. Dylan Holloway scored with 15 seconds left, and Robert Thomas had one with four minutes remaining, trying to spark a comeback. Jonatan Berggren and Mason McTavish also lit the lamp for St. Louis, and Joel Hofer made 33 saves. They were even without Pavel Buchnevich, who had three assists in their 7-2 win over Ottawa on Tuesday but was home for the birth of his child.
Next up, the Wild get to host Columbus on Sunday. If Boldy and Kaprizov keep this up, Columbus is going to have their hands full, big time.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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