Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals and Quinn Hughes had two points to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins at Grand Casino Arena on Saturday night. Minnesota broke the game open with a pair of power-play goals in the second period before closing it out with two third-period tallies.
The Bruins struck first just 1:53 into the opening period. Tanner Jeannot beat Jesper Wallstedt with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season, assisted by Mark Kastelic and Connor Clifton, putting Boston ahead 1-0. Minnesota took control in the second frame, beginning with Kaprizov snapping a shot past Michael DiPietro on the power play at 6:11 off assists from Maxim Shabanov and Joel Eriksson Ek. Hughes then netted his first goal of the season with a wrist shot at 12:28 during another man advantage, converting passes from Bobby Brink and Ryan Hartman to give the Wild a 2-1 lead.
Jared Spurgeon widened the gap at 3:24 of the third period, scoring his first goal of the year on a wrist shot assisted by Michael McCarron and Hughes. With DiPietro pulled for an extra skater late in regulation, Kaprizov finished the scoring with an unassisted empty-net backhand at 18:59.
Special teams shaped the outcome as Minnesota converted two of its three power-play opportunities, while Boston came up empty on three chances with the man advantage. Wallstedt stopped 26 of 27 shots to earn the victory for the Wild. At the other end, DiPietro stopped 26 of 29 shots in the loss for Boston as Minnesota finished with a 30-27 edge in shots on goal.
The victory extended Minnesota's winning streak to two games and brought its regular-season record to 2-0-0. Boston dropped to 2-1-0 on the season following the defeat.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday, October 20. The Wild travel to face the Edmonton Oilers, while the Bruins visit the Dallas Stars.
