Matt Boldy's fast start with Wild might make landlord increase the rent

Jordan Greenway has been a landlord for less than a month, but he already knows when his tenant might be pulling a fast one.

"I'm upping his rent,'' Greenway joked Monday night. "Honestly, that's where we're going to start.''

Greenway is a power forward in his fourth full season with the Wild, and his tenant is rookie forward Matt Boldy, who put in a breakthrough performance Monday night in a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Boldy notched the first hat trick of his career, with his three goals helping the Wild overcome an early, 2-0 deficit on the way to its 11^th victory in its past 14 games. The 2019 first-round draft pick also added an assist and slid on the ice to block a Red Wings scoring chance.

The all-around effort gave Boldy seven goals and seven assists in his 13 career NHL games. He's become a key player on a line with Kevin Fiala and Freddie Gaudreau, giving the Wild three productive scoring lines.

"He's clearly playing very well,'' coach Dean Evason said. "That line has given us a really good spark — all areas of the game. Offensively, clearly they've been really good, and none of them have been cheating the game, Kevin included. It's easy to play them in all situations. No question, Bolds' skill set is elite.''

Boldy, sporting a pink T-shirt postgame with a caricature of Fiala's head on a red heart for Valentine's Day, was humble on his breakthrough evening, quickly crediting teammates for his success. When the sold-out crowd of 18,098 rained down hats after he scored his third goal on a power play with 1:47 left in the second period, Boldy couldn't help but smile and soak it all in.

"It was obviously really cool,'' he said. "The fans were going crazy, and I just had teammates' support from everyone. Everyone kind of clapped my back and stuff like that. It's awesome.''

That reaction wasn't surprising to Evason, who sees a young player who respects the game like a veteran.

"He's happier for his teammates when they score and he's very calm. He's very level with everything,'' Evason said. "Yeah, we're impressed by his attitude and how he conducts himself, for sure. Obviously, he's got elite skill, but he's also got elite mental capacity to play the game the right way and conduct himself the right way as a teammate."

Boldy, a 20-year-old who played at Boston College, appreciates what Greenway, who played for rival Boston University, has done for him since Wild General Manager Bill Guerin told him he would be spending the remainder of the season with the Wild and wouldn't be returning to Iowa of the AHL. His days of living in a hotel room were over.

"It's been awesome,'' Boldy said of living at Greenway's place. "He's been really good to me. I think a lot of people give him a little dirt or a little shade about what his place is like, but he keeps it pretty nice.''

Those words just might get his landlord to reconsider that rent increase.

"He's been great, he's been having obviously a huge impact for us,'' Greenway said. "He's exceeded his expectations, for sure.''