Story of Wild's current success? You don't know 'who's going to be the guy'

Matt Boldy wound up as if he was taking a shot, but the puck didn't end up on net.

Instead it made a beeline for Kirill Kaprizov in the slot, where Kaprizov flicked his stick at just the right moment to send the puck between his legs and rolling past Tampa Bay goaltender Brian Elliott.

"It was kind of a last-second play," Boldy said of the slap-pass sequence. "I didn't see much. Just tried to put it anywhere near him."

Boldy and Kaprizov creating goals, from their own lines or together like this on the power play, is expected.

But they and the other scoring leaders aren't the only catalysts, with the Wild's 5-1 blitz of the Lightning on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center showcasing who else has been delivering offense on a regular basis.

"This is a team effort in every game," captain Jared Spurgeon said. "You don't really know who's going to be the guy contributing."

Rookie Calen Addison assisted on two goals before potting his own for a three-point effort that matched his career high, set earlier this season.

Not only did he become the first rookie defenseman in team history with multiple three-point games, but he's only one of nine active defensemen to accomplish the feat.

Addison put the Wild's first goal in motion, sending a puck deep that Joel Eriksson Ek retrieved to notch his 13th, a fortuitous bounce off Elk River's Nick Perbix in the first period.

After handing off to Boldy on Kaprizov's power play marker in the second period, Addison then put on a playmaking exhibition of his own by curling away from Tampa Bay pressure before skating along the blue line and winding up for a shot that sailed past Elliott.

That goal lifted Addison to 19 points on the season, which rank as the third most in franchise history among rookie defensemen. His 16 assists are second for NHL rookies, and the 22-year-old leads the league in rookie defensemen scoring.

"It's just playing with confidence, moving my feet," said Addison, who's also improved his defensive play since being a healthy scratch in December. "I've been trying to focus on just getting pucks to the net, not necessarily on net but just around the net and just creating chances for our guys."

Sam Steel scored his seventh of the season, a career high after he maxed out at six in each of his previous four seasons in the NHL with Anaheim. Joining the Wild on a one-year contract after the Ducks didn't re-sign him signaled a fresh start, and the 24-year-old Steel has taken advantage of it.

Since he began centering Mats Zuccarello and Kaprizov, who scored his second goal vs. Tampa Bay into an empty net late in the third period, Steel has five goals and nine assists through 20 games. Over the last nine, he's producing at a point-per-game clip.

"When you're playing with those two guys, you've got to chip in a little bit," Steel said. "It makes it a lot easier being with those guys because they're going to make some great plays and open ice up. I'm happy to be in this position but not taking it for granted. Just kind of have to show up every night and do what I can do."

Filip Gustavsson was the winning goalie, although he had to leave late in the game because of illness.

This was the second straight game the Wild racked up five goals and they're averaging almost four an outing during their 9-2 upswing, more than enough offense when they've limited the opposition to two goals or less in each of those nine victories.

Zuccarello, Kaprizov and Boldy are headlining the surge but like on Wednesday, others are also taking turns in the spotlight.

"All lines are rolling," Spurgeon said. "We have four lines that are contributing and six 'D,' two goalies, and everybody who's in the lineup is always bringing something. It's a good thing to have going right now."