Minnesota’s top end did the damage Thursday in St. Paul, with Matt Boldy posting his fifth NHL hat trick in a 5-4 Wild win over the St. Louis Blues at Grand Casino Arena.
- Boldy finished with three goals and an assist.
- Kirill Kaprizov scored once and added two helpers; Danila Yurov had the other Minnesota goal.
- Jesper Wallstedt stopped 20 shots for the Wild, now 5-2-1 and winners of three of their past four.
- Joel Hofer made 33 saves for St. Louis.
- Robert Thomas produced a goal and an assist, Mason McTavish scored, and Cam Fowler collected three assists for the Blues.
- St. Louis is 3-3-1 and has earned points in three consecutive games, going 2-0-1 in that stretch.
The Blues struck first 1:45 into the opening period when Jonatan Berggren finished a backhand high in the net on the power play. Boldy answered at 7:31, hammering home a quick shot during a two-man advantage.
Yurov put Minnesota ahead 2-1 later in the first, beating Hofer from the high slot after Maxim Shabanov worked the puck low on the rush.
McTavish pulled St. Louis even early in the second, but Boldy restored the Wild lead 27 seconds later. Kaprizov then pushed the margin to 4-2 at 8:47, going to the crease for a tip after moving the puck to Hughes. It was Kaprizov’s ninth goal of the season.
Boldy completed the three-goal night at 16:47 of the middle frame, giving Minnesota a 5-2 cushion that proved just enough.
Thomas scored shorthanded with four minutes left to bring the Blues within two. With Hofer on the bench for an extra attacker, Dylan Holloway scored with 15 seconds remaining, but St. Louis could not find an equalizer.
Quinn Hughes recorded an assist for an eighth straight game to open the season. The run matches Filip Kuba’s eight-game assist streak from 2008-09 as the second-longest by a defenseman in NHL history, while Hughes’ eight-game point streak to start a season moves past Andrew Brunette’s seven-game Wild record from 2009-10.
