TEMPE, ARIZ. – Matt Boldy’s shot was a save before it was a goal.
Wild’s top line with Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek has team on a roll
The three have accounted for seven of the team’s 11 goals in the past three games.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 16, 2024 at 12:01AM
After he dashed around Arizona pressure to inside ice and wound up against Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka, the puck dropped into the crease before Vejmelka’s skate pushed the rebound into the net as he reset.
“Just kind of a lucky bounce more than anything,” Boldy said after the Wild’s 3-1 victory Wednesday night. “Kind of rolled through him. Not really totally sure how it went in, but there’s no pictures on the scoresheet.”
If there were, Boldy’s collaboration with Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov would be museum-worthy.
Fortuitous or not, the newly appointed top line has been playing up to its billing, supplying consistent scoring during a surge that will have the Wild vying for a season-high fifth straight victory on Saturday vs. Buffalo.
“They’re good,” goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. “They’re clicking very well together.”
The Wild tabbed their top three goal scorers for the same line late in a pedestrian performance coming out of the All-Star break against last-place Chicago.
During the three games since, the Wild have earned the same result — holding off Arizona to sweep their two-game road trip tied their longest win streak of the season — but they’ve reached that outcome with sharper showings, and the trio’s contributions are a big reason why.
They’re responsible for seven of the 11 goals the Wild have tallied, and they’ve delivered at clutch times. Twice the line has opened the scoring on the power play, and they have two game-winners. Boldy’s “lucky bounce” vs. the Coyotes was key, too, because it shut the door on an Arizona rally after the Coyotes scored earlier in the third period to move within a goal of the Wild.
Overall, the three have picked up 17 points; Boldy’s seven (the winger is on a three-game goal streak) lead the way, with Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov boasting five points apiece.
Big picture, Boldy has 18 of his 19 goals since Nov. 28 to rank top-10 in the NHL since then.
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NHL standings: https://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/season/standings/
Eriksson Ek’s team-best 24 goals are two shy of the center’s career high set in 2021-22, while Kaprizov (the winger had a season-high eight shots against Arizona) is the first Wild player to post 50 points in four consecutive seasons.
“We’re all competitive players that want to have the puck,” Eriksson Ek said.
That’s for sure.
Not only is the line producing, but the group is doing so with an assertiveness that’s difficult to defend.
Whether it’s Boldy driving to the net, Eriksson Ek being a wrecking ball in front or Kaprizov eluding the opposition with his passes, their minutes leave a mark.
In other words, “they’re playing with hard skill,” coach John Hynes said. “When opportunities present themselves for them to get scoring chances or score, they’re able to capitalize on them. But a lot of their shifts, they’re hard to contain and I think the three of them are working as that trio.
“There’s no passenger on the line. They’re all playing that same style of game. I think when you have that three talented of players on the same line and they play with hard skill, then they’re going to be a tough group to play against.”
So will the Wild.
Four wins in a row and seven in their last nine games have them wedged in the Western Conference wild-card race, their outlook only improving since Boldy, Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov teamed up as a line.
“It’s fun to watch,” defenseman Jonas Brodin said. “They’re having fun and making plays out there, and they look really good. That’s huge for us. That’s our best players.”
Problems that might have led to a loss in the past are merely complications that the team is overcoming this season, as was true again Friday against Tampa Bay.
