Hats had just rained down on the ice inside Xcel Energy Center, and the reason why they ended up there was on the Wild bench beaming over his masterpiece to a crescendo of cheers.
Wild blasts out of early hole, beats Red Wings 7-4 behind rookie Matt Boldy's hat trick
The Wild fell behind 2-0 in the opening minutes, setting the stage for Boldy's hat trick. He also became the first Wild rookie to score four points in a game..
February 15, 2022 at 12:07PM
Rookie Matt Boldy scored his first career hat trick during a career-high four-point effort to help the Wild flip a poor start into a 7-4 comeback against the Red Wings on Monday in front of 18,098 for the team's sixth straight victory at home.
Overall, the Wild has won eight of its last nine games.
"It's a good feeling for him," Jordan Greenway said. "They'll probably be cheering his name a lot more."
Boldy is the fourth Wild rookie to record a hat trick and first to register four points in a game.
He is up to 14 points in 13 games since making his NHL debut last month after a call-up from the minors. Already, the 20-year-old has the second-most points by a Wild rookie through his first 15 career games; Ryan Donato (15) is first.
"It was awesome," Boldy said. "It was obviously nice to get the goals, but I think just the reaction from the fans and everyone, teammates, it was really special."
This milestone game for Boldy came after the Wild stumbled into the first period.
Just 1 minute, 27 seconds after puck drop, Detroit's Dylan Larkin skated by a fallen Jordie Benn and dipped a backhand behind goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen.
One shot later, the Red Wings moved ahead 2-0 on a wind-up from the point by Gustav Lindstrom at 4:01.
Then Boldy took over.
He accepted a Kevin Fiala pass, turned to the inside and flung the puck top-shelf at 5:29 before registering his second goal of the game off a deflection on the power play at 8:04.
"Proud of him," said
Greenway, who lives with Boldy. "He's been working hard. He deserves it."
After Kirill Kaprizov buried a give-and-go with Mats Zuccarello at 4:54 of the second for his team-leading 21st goal and 23rd point over his last 15 games, Boldy tallied the Wild's third hat trick of the season and 33rd in team history with 1:47 to go in the period.
Back on the power play, he converted on a one-timer that bounced off the post and Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic's right skate before rolling into the net.
"I saw Zuccy and [Joel Eriksson Ek] kind of turn around and grab the puck, and that was kind of when I realized that it was mine," Boldy said.
Posted up in front, Eriksson Ek intentionally avoided nudging the carom, securing Boldy's hat trick.
"When I saw it was going in, I just tried to get my stick away as soon as possible," said Eriksson Ek, who credited Boldy's first goal with igniting the Wild.
On the team's next power play in the third period, Boldy went from scorer to playmaker when he sent the puck to Eriksson Ek for a redirect at 8 minutes. Boldy's three points on the power play tied Kaprizov for the most in a game by a rookie.
Not only did the Wild power play go 3-for-4, but Zuccarello assisted on three goals and captain Jared Spurgeon two.
The three assists are a season high for Zuccarello, which tied his career best for the 11th time. He has 24 points in his past 15 games, a span that includes a whopping nine multi-point efforts.
As for Spurgeon, he surpassed Andrew Brunette for sixth place on the Wild's all-time scoring list at 322 points.
Kahkonen totaled 30 saves, with Detroit scoring twice more in the third period. The first came from Lucas Raymond at 9:43 for the Red Wings' lone power play goal in six tries, and Sam Gagner cut the deficit to a goal with 1:46 remaining.
NHL standings: Conference | Wild Card
But Kaprizov nixed that rally with an empty netter at 19:11 before Ryan Hartman capped off the scoring with 15 seconds left against Nedeljkovic, who had 18 stops. The victory was the Wild's sixth multi-goal comeback this season, leading the NHL.
This nail-biter of a finish, however, wasn't the highlight of the night.
Boldy delivered that moment earlier in the evening.
"You can see how good he is and how smart he is and how he uses his stick to protect the puck," Eriksson Ek said. "Him being so young and being so strong is amazing. It's great for our team to get a player like that."
The Wild are off to one of the best starts in franchise history, and Kirill Kaprizov is tied for the NHL scoring lead.
