Wild vs. Blues: Matt Boldy's Hat Trick and a Red-Hot Top Line Hold Off a Late St. Louis Push

The hats came raining down late in the second period, and honestly, Matt Boldy's line had earned a whole haberdashery. Kirill Kaprizov threaded a blind backhand pass across, Boldy buried it from the left side for his third goal of the night, and the Grand Casino Arena ice turned into a clearance rack.

The Minnesota Wild needed every bit of that cushion. They beat the St. Louis Blues 5-4 on Thursday night, holding on after Robert Thomas and Dylan Holloway scored in the final four minutes to turn a laugher into a nail-biter. Boldy finished with three goals and an assist, Kaprizov added his league-leading ninth goal and two assists, and Quinn Hughes set a franchise record with two more helpers.

A Power-Play Trade, Then a Second-Period Avalanche

St. Louis came out swinging. Jonatan Berggren cashed in on a power play just 1:45 into the game, lifting a backhand top shelf with Cam Fowler and Dalibor Dvorsky assisting. Then the Blues handed the momentum right back. Mason McTavish went off for high-sticking and Jake Neighbours followed him for tripping, and Boldy punished the 5-on-3 with a quick slap shot at 7:31, set up by Hughes and Joel Eriksson Ek.

Danila Yurov gave Minnesota its first lead at 11:17, converting off the rush with Maxim Shabanov setting him up. McTavish answered for St. Louis at 4:57 of the second, and for about half a minute, this looked like a coin-flip game.

It was not. Boldy restored the lead just 27 seconds later, pouncing on a turnover for his second goal. Kaprizov made it 4-2 at 8:47, moving the puck to Hughes and then crashing the net to tip home the return. At 16:47, Boldy completed the hat trick, and Minnesota had rattled off three straight goals for a 5-2 lead.

"Their top line was really good all night," Thomas said. "We were chasing them around. They made a ton of plays."

Boldy's 27-Second Answer

If there was one moment that decided this game, it was the shift right after McTavish tied it. St. Louis had clawed back to 2-2 and had a real chance to grab the middle of the game. Instead, Minnesota's top line pounced on a St. Louis turnover, and Boldy had his second goal before the Blues could even enjoy the equalizer. That sequence flipped the period, and Minnesota scored twice more before the second intermission.

The Blues deserve credit for refusing to fold. With Joel Hofer called for interference at 15:29 of the third, Thomas scored short-handed at 16:00 on a feed from Fowler to make it 5-3. With Hofer pulled for an extra skater, Holloway made it 5-4 with 15 seconds left, Thomas and Fowler assisting. The clock simply ran out on them.

"I did like our fight to come back and just to try and prevail in the game," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. He was a lot less happy with what came before. "They're very dangerous, and they showed us why they're so dangerous," he said. "And we made it too easy for them."

The Top Line Is Cooking

Boldy's night was his fifth career hat trick, and the history attached to it is legit. According to the AP and NHL.com, he is the third-fastest active American skater to five hat tricks, getting there in 369 games, behind only Tage Thompson (279) and Jason Robertson (363). He also became the second player in Wild history with six career four-point games, trailing only Marian Gaborik's seven.

The wild part, pun fully intended, is that Boldy started this season without a point through four games. He now has five goals in his last four. "Everyone made a difference, which is what you need when guys are out," Boldy said.

Kaprizov extended his point streak to five games and became the first player in Wild history to record 50 career three-point games. The AP noted that the Boldy, Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek line has 12 goals in the past four games. That is not a top line. That is a cheat code.

Then there is Hughes, who just keeps stacking assists. His two helpers pushed his season-opening point streak to eight games, the longest in franchise history, passing Andrew Brunette's seven from 2009-10. His season-opening assist streak is also at eight, which per NHL.com ties Filip Kuba for the second-longest by a defenseman in NHL history. Colorado's John-Michael Liles holds the record at nine. "I feel like when we're out there together, we just tilt the ice," Hughes said.

For St. Louis, Fowler had three assists and Thomas had a goal and an assist while winning 14 of 25 draws.

Numbers From a Wild Night

• 39-26: Minnesota's edge in shots on goal.
• 12: Goals in the past four games from the Boldy, Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek line, per the AP.
• 8: Games in Hughes' season-opening point streak, a Wild record.
• 56.7: Percentage of faceoffs St. Louis won, one of the few areas the Blues controlled.
• 34 of 39: Shots Hofer stopped, which kept this from getting out of hand.

Minnesota Rolls, St. Louis Regroups

Minnesota moves to 5-2-1 with 11 points and stays perfect at home at 3-0-0. The Wild have won three of their last four, and this one came two nights after a 5-2 loss in Winnipeg. Jesper Wallstedt made 22 saves on 26 shots. "I thought we played a really strong, collective team game," Wild coach John Hynes said. "We played organized. We were stingy, highly competitive." Stingy is generous for a night with four goals against, but the coach gets to pick his adjectives after a win.

St. Louis drops to 3-3-1 with seven points and 2-3-0 on the road. The Blues had picked up points in three straight, including a 7-2 rout of Ottawa on Tuesday. They also played this one without Pavel Buchnevich, who had three assists in that Ottawa win. St. Louis visits Nashville on Saturday, and Minnesota hosts Columbus on Sunday.

The Band Is Getting Louder

Every great trio has a frontman, and right now Boldy is hitting every high note while Kaprizov and Hughes handle the harmonies. The Blues spent 60 minutes chasing a band that refuses to miss. When the opposing coach admits his team made it too easy, the setlist is working.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.