Matt Boldy scored a hat trick and recorded four points to lead the Minnesota Wild past the St. Louis Blues in a 5-4 victory at Grand Casino Arena on Thursday. St. Louis mounted a late third-period push, but Minnesota's three-goal second period provided enough cushion to secure the win.
St. Louis struck first when Jonatan Berggren scored on a power-play backhand at 1:45 of the opening period. Boldy leveled the game at 7:31 with a power-play slap shot, and Danila Yurov gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead with an even-strength wrist shot at 11:17.
The Blues pulled even early in the second period on an even-strength backhand from Mason McTavish at 4:57. Just 27 seconds later, Boldy restored Minnesota's advantage with a snap shot. Kirill Kaprizov tipped in a shot at 8:47 to widen the gap, and Boldy finished his hat trick with an even-strength wrist shot at 16:47 to make it 5-2.
St. Louis cut into the deficit late in the final period. Robert Thomas tallied his first goal of the season with a shorthanded wrist shot at 16:00. Dylan Holloway followed with his first goal of the season at 19:45, but Minnesota closed out the remaining seconds.
Jesper Wallstedt stopped 22 of 26 shots to earn the win for Minnesota. Joel Hofer took the loss for St. Louis after making 34 saves on 39 shots. The Wild went 1 for 5 on the power play while outshooting the Blues 39-26. St. Louis scored on one of its two power-play opportunities and added a shorthanded marker.
The Wild improved their regular-season record to 5-2-1, while the Blues moved to 3-3-1. Minnesota next hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, October 18. St. Louis returns home to host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, October 20.
