3 Takeaways From the Wild’s 5-4 Win Over the Blues

The Minnesota Wild played host to the St.Louis Blues on Thursday night, Oct. 15, after a quick one-game road trip to Winnipeg against the Jets on Tuesday, Oct. 13. They looked to bounce back from that tough loss against the Jets and also a lot of injuries. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any players return from injury just yet, so their list was still quite long. 

Not only were they without Filip Gustavsson and Brock Faber, but also Nico Sturm, Marcus and Nick Foligno, Olli Määttä, and their captain Jared Spurgeon. Jesper Wallstedt was back in the net after having the last game off, and the game started out in favor of the Blues. However, the Wild found a way to bounce back not just once but twice and took the lead 2-1 into the second. 

In the second period, the Blues scored first again but the Wild responded with three goals to keep their lead and extend it 5-2 going into the final period. The Blues did add a couple of goals before the final buzzer, but the Wild held on to come out on top 5-4. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few takeaways from the game, starting with Matt Boldy’s performance. 

Wild’s Boldy Hero Again

Some nights it’s Kirill Kaprizov who plays the hero for the Wild, and other nights it’s Matt Boldy who leads the team. Against the Blues, Boldy stepped up and not only got the first goal of the game for the Wild but also their third. He got them back into the game with his first goal, and he got them their second lead with the third; plus, he set up the Wild’s fourth goal of the game that gave them a two-goal lead. 

He wasn’t finished, however, as late in the second period he scored his third for his first hat trick of the season and gave his team a 5-2 lead. Boldy may have started out the season a bit slow, but since his first goal of the season back on Oct. 10 against the Florida Panthers, he’s been on fire, as have his teammates. Boldy registered four points against the Blues, Kaprizov had three, Eriksson Ek had two, and Quinn Hughes had two for a combined 11 points. 

“I mean, I think I said it a lot to you guys last year; it’s like the more reps and games we get together, the more we’re just going to be reading off of each other, and feel like we’re getting to a place now where we’re in a good spot with that, and it’s just so fun playing with them, and I feel like when we’re out there together we just tilt the ice. You know, credit to Hynesy and Cappy (Capuano), who are really on that, and I think I played every shift with them in the first period, and we just took over, and that really jump-started everything, to be honest with you,” said Hughes to the media in his postgame interview when asked about his chemistry with Kaprizov and Boldy. 

Wild Start Out Behind/Battle Injuries

This was the Wild’s eighth game of the season, and they’ve only started out behind in half of them, including against the Blues. Out of those four games, they’ve found a way to come back in two of them, including their win over the Blues; the other was their home opener on Oct. 3 against the Boston Bruins.

While it’s always hard for teams to come from behind, they have to know how to do it, and although the Wild haven’t been tested too much just yet, they’re proving they can win with the lead or without it. It’s been even more difficult with all of the injuries they’ve had to face, but they’ve found a way to persevere there as well. 

“Well, yes, but I also think the guys that come in, they play their role, they play their part, they don’t try to be anyone else, they come in, chip in, play their game, they stick to our structure. We know as a team when we play to our structure we’re gonna be good because we have the skill outside of our structure that makes us a really good team. New guys coming into the lineup, they know the structure, they play to it, and I think that overall that helped us show our skill when we got to that point,” said Jesper Wallstedt to the media in his postgame interview when asked about how the star players playing well has helped with the injuries. 

Wild’s Russian Line Clicking

The top line wasn’t the only one finding some scoring magic against the Blues as the Russian line of Yakov Trenin, Danila Yurov, and Maxim Shabanov got on the board with a beauty of a goal as well. While their hard work has been noticeable, their chemistry has been undeniable. Many times when lines are put together, early on there’s a lot of missed passes and mistakes because they’re still learning each other’s tendencies- not with this group, however. 

They trust in each other, and it’s clear they have a connection similar to the top line. Both lines had similar passing play goals that wouldn’t have worked if there wasn’t trust and chemistry. Over the seasons, the Wild have typically had one combination that has stood out while the rest tried, but this season so far, nearly every line they put together has found a way to work. 

“Yeah, I thought we played a really strong collective team game. Top line was good, as we talked about with, and then Hughes and Brodin, but I felt like, like we talked about this morning, throughout the lineup we got contributions, we played organized, we were stingy, highly competitive, our detail was good, and that’s what you need anytime, that’s what was I think tightened up a little bit from Winnipeg,” said head coach John Hynes to the media in his postgame press conference when asked about the overall effort. 

The Wild will have a couple of days off before they’re back in action again on Sunday evening, Oct. 18, when they’ll host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Maybe they’ll get a few of their injured palyers back, but if not, they’ve shown they are capable of winning with and without them in the lineup. Hopefully they’ll add another win at home before they head out on the road for an even longer trip.