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Matt Boldy plays overtime hero as Wild keep winning: 3 takeaways

Matt Boldy plays overtime hero as Wild keep winning: 3 takeaways
Posted on | Posted on angela

ST. PAUL, Minn. – In an exceedingly close checking contest against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that was sluggish in the third period after last night's game in St. Louis, the Minnesota Wild improved to 8-1-2 with a 2 – 1 win in overtime.

Matt Boldy scored the game-winning goal 2:14 into overtime after a big backcheck from Jared Spurgeon negated Max Domi's escape. He brought Marco Rossi onto the ice, who quickly handed off to Boldy for the breakaway winner.

Ryan Hartman, who suffered an upper-body injury, scored a first-period goal for Minnesota and William Nylander scored a rare power-play goal for the Maple Leafs.

NHL leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov's seven-game assist and point streak ended. He has had multiple points in each of his last seven games.

Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves and improved the Wild's record to 6-1-1. Anthony Stolarz was simply outstanding with 31 saves for the Leafs.

The Wild, who have Monday off, wrap up their three-game home series against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

The Leafs' brutal PP vs. the Wild's terrible PK

Perhaps the most predictable thing on Sunday was the Leafs scoring their first away power play goal of the season.

Toronto's power play rating was the worst in the league at 7.9 percent, with three power play goals in 38 total chances and zero in 18 away chances.

The problem for the wild? Although the Wild have vowed to make amends for their 30th penalty kill from a year ago, which ended at an abysmal 74.5 percent, they have continued to give up power play goals against them this season. They entered the competition having allowed seven goals from 21 chances (66.7 percent).

Well, after taking control of the first period with a 1-0 lead and a 10-2 shot advantage, Kaprizov and Rossi took back-to-back penalties. Just like in the Pittsburgh game last week, when Rossi took a penalty right after Jon Merrill, the Wild again easily killed the first but couldn't kill the second.

After Auston Matthews stole Kaprizov, Mitch Marner went to Rossi and drew a hooking minor. That put the Wild's penalty kill back on the ice, and Matthews connected with Nylander for the star's ninth goal, tying the score by the end of the period.

The wild second line is blocked

The Wild's second line of Marcus Johansson and Joel Eriksson Ek-Boldy has been overloaded with a five-on-five system in several games recently. Since the first of two meetings in Tampa Bay five games ago, there have been instances where the three have been cornered. Conversely, they do not score points in the five-on-five system.

At some point, John Hynes may have to think about breaking up the trio, perhaps even just flipping the centers and moving Eriksson Ek down to the Kaprizov-Mats Zuccarello line and Rossi down to the second line.

Or find a new left wing.

In his last nine games, Johansson scored just one goal and no assists. That's quite difficult when you play alongside Eriksson Ek and Boldy.

Wild's #1 power play in a funk

After failing to convert on two shortened five-on-three plays in Pittsburgh, the Wild's No. 1 unit had a chance to tie it 1-1 at the end of the second period and early in the third after Oliver To open the game, Ekman-Larsson counterchecked and then began punching Rossi repeatedly in the head as he lay defenseless on the ice.

But in the double minor, the Wild's first unit of Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Zuccarello, Boldy and Brock Faber, which spent the most time on the ice, was suspended for the 10th time in the last three games. They had 1:36 of play in the third period and couldn't even get a shot on goal.

(Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn / Imagn Images)

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