The Minnesota Wild came into the night celebrating the arrival of top prospects Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy. But after a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins, they left Beantown concerned about the status of Kirill Kaprizov.
Kaprizov left Thursday’s game in the second period when he got tangled up in the stick of Matt Grzelcyk. As he was going down, Trent Fredric sent Kaprizov head-first in the boards, prompting a fight with Dmitry Kulikov.
Kirill appears to hurt his leg after getting tangled up, and needed help heading into the locker room. pic.twitter.com/L96x6ZjYUa
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) January 7, 2022
Kaprizov skated off the ice favoring his head and shoulder and was helped to the locker room. He did not return to the game and the Wild announced he left with an upper-body injury.
While Kaprizov’s injury is concerning, the fears were eased by the debut of Boldy and Rossi. The Wild’s first-round picks from the 2019 and 2020 drafts took their traditional rookie lap before the game and made an immediate impact once the puck dropped.
Rookie lap for Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi tonight! #mnwild pic.twitter.com/K6uIKFUgi9
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 6, 2022
Rossi drew a tripping penalty on his first career shift. Although the Wild couldn’t convert on the man advantage, Boldy had a nice feed in front of the net that created a scoring chance.
literally Marco Rossi's first second on NHL ice, and he draws a penalty. Wild PP. pic.twitter.com/AbGKsRZpqn
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) January 7, 2022
and Matt Boldy is already putting his playmaking on display pic.twitter.com/qHUO57ARcm
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) January 7, 2022
The game shifted to the other players on the ice when Taylor Hall scored on a 4-on-3 to put Boston on the board. But the Wild were able to draw a 5-on-3 opportunity and cashed in on a one-timer from Kaprizov.
Chalk up a PPG for Kirill Kaprizov!
📺: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/9ZioXLQvHl pic.twitter.com/X8PXLIHdiN
— NHL (@NHL) January 7, 2022
With the Wild still on the power play, Jonas Brodin’s shot was deflected by Nico Sturm to put Minnesota ahead 2-1 at the first intermission.
With the Wild down 10 forwards in the wake of Kaprizov’s injury, Boldy stepped up.
The Milford, Mass. and Boston College product looked comfortable on the Wild’s top power play line and with his family in attendance, he executed a beautiful give-and-go with Marcus Foligno for his first career goal.
MATT BOLDY GOAL. SEND TWEET.#mnwild pic.twitter.com/TCuIorzjmU
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 7, 2022
Boston chipped into the lead on a power play goal by Brad Marchand but Kaapo Kähkönen made 37 saves on 39 shots to help preserve the victory and snap a five-game losing streak.
The Wild may have gotten the win but the focus now turns to Kaprizov’s status. Minnesota (20-10-2) will head home after Thursday’s victory and will host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
