Boldy and Kaprizov Both Reach 40 Goals as Wild Clinch Playoff Spot With 5-2 Win Over Canucks
Matt Boldy scored twice to reach 40 goals, Kirill Kaprizov added his 40th and the Wild clinched a playoff berth with a 5-2 win over the Canucks on April 2.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild had never had two 40-goal scorers in the same season. Barely six minutes into the second period on Thursday night, they did. Matt Boldy scored twice to reach 40, Kirill Kaprizov got his 40th less than six minutes later, and the Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 at Grand Casino Arena to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Minnesota wrapped up its berth in 75 games, according to the Associated Press, a year after needing all 82 to get in. Ryan Hartman added two goals in the third period, and Filip Gustavsson earned his 100th win with the franchise in front of 19,156.
Vancouver Strikes Back Fast
Boldy opened the scoring at 8:32 of the first period, his 39th of the season and his first goal in eight games, according to NHL.com, from Marcus Johansson and Joel Eriksson Ek. The lead lasted until late in the period, when the Canucks scored twice in 42 seconds.
Rookie defenseman Tom Willander tied it at 16:00 with the teams playing 4-on-4, and Jake DeBrusk put Vancouver ahead on the power play at 16:42. According to NHL.com, 15 of DeBrusk's 18 goals this season have come with the man advantage. Willander's goal gave him 20 points, making him the first Canucks rookie defenseman to reach that mark since Quinn Hughes in 2019-20.
"Kind of got lucky where I was on the ice, but it was nice to cash in," DeBrusk said of his goal, according to NHL.com.
Two 40s in Six Minutes
Minnesota needed 23 seconds of the second period to respond. Boldy beat Nikita Tolopilo with a wrist shot for his 40th goal, his first career 40-goal season, NHL.com reported. At 6:08, Kaprizov followed with a snap shot from Mats Zuccarello to give Minnesota the lead for good.
According to NHL.com, Boldy and Kaprizov became the first teammates to reach 40 goals in the same game since Theo Fleury and Robert Reichel did it for Calgary on April 13, 1994. It is also the first time in Wild history the team has had multiple 40-goal scorers.
"It's probably the best game we played in a while," Boldy said, per NHL.com.
Wild coach John Hynes said he likes the friendly race between his two stars. "For them to have a healthy competition, I always think that's positive, particularly the way that they've handled it," he said, according to NHL.com.
Hartman Seals It, Hughes Faces His Old Team
Hartman tipped in a shot at 6:03 of the third for his 19th goal, from Zuccarello and Quinn Hughes, then added an empty-netter at 18:52 to reach 20 for the season.
The assist was the 67th of the season for Hughes, who was playing his first game against the Canucks since Vancouver traded him to Minnesota on Dec. 12 for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick. He finished plus-4. "Definitely a little weird, but you move on and happy to be here right now," Hughes said, according to NHL.com.
Gustavsson made 30 saves, per NHL.com, becoming the fourth goaltender to reach 100 wins with the franchise. "It's always fun to go back into the playoffs," he said. "As long as you get there, you have a chance to win it all." Tolopilo made 34 saves for Vancouver, according to NHL.com.
Where Things Stand
The Wild improved to 42-22-11, per NHL.com, and sit third in the Western Conference, six points behind Dallas and 12 back of Colorado, according to the AP. The Canucks, who had won 8-6 at Colorado the night before, fell to 22-45-8, and the loss guaranteed them a 32nd-place finish and the best odds in the draft lottery, per the AP.
Minnesota had alternated wins and losses over its previous eight games, according to NHL.com, and was coming off a 6-3 loss at Boston, per the AP. Vancouver has now allowed four or more goals in six straight games, NHL.com noted.
"We had a great effort, especially back to back against two good teams like that," Canucks coach Adam Foote said, according to NHL.com.
Minnesota plays at Ottawa on Saturday, while Vancouver hosts Utah. For the Wild, the job of getting in is done. Now the focus shifts to seeding, and to whether a team with two 40-goal scorers can finally make a deep run.
Photo Credit: Ariana Golemis/Undrafted
