Filip Gustavsson posted his second shutout of the season and the Wild got goals from Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek in a 3-0 win at Seattle Sunday night.
Minnesota carried a 1-0 lead into the third period before Rossi’s ninth goal of the season with 7:26 to go doubled the lead, with Eriksson Ek’s team-leading 14th goal into an empty net with 4 seconds to go being the icing on the cake.
Gustavsson stopped all 24 shots he faced for his second shutout. His first came in the season opener against the Florida Panthers when he made 41 saves.
After a brutal stretch following his opening night brilliance, Gustavsson has returned to the form that made him one of the top goalies in the NHL last season. In his past five starts, the 26-year-old is 4-1 with a 1.21 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage.
Boldy’s seventh goal of the season got the scoring started midway through the first period. The 22-year-old has scored six of his seven goals in the six games since Dean Evason was fired and replaced by new head coach John Hynes.
Another look at this beauty for #EasyToCelebrate 😍 period 2 is now#mnwild | @budlight pic.twitter.com/ecTZgK8Vu5
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 11, 2023
Boldy was on the top line with Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov, with Hynes making the change Sunday to encourage players to play fast and “direct@ rather than “cute.”
Hynes changed top line because he felt it didn't generate much the past two games. He wants them to play "fast and direct" rather than "fast and cute." Where have we heard that before? Again, they have to get Kaprizov going. Almost 1/3 way through season, Kirill has 3 ES goals
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 11, 2023
Minnesota went 2-2 on their four game road trip. Up next is a home game Thursday against Calgary.
