Boldy Hat Trick Leads Wild Past Maple Leafs 5-2 in Toronto

Matt Boldy scored three goals for his sixth career hat trick and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. Boldy opened the scoring at 17:53 of the first period, tied the game on a power play at 9:55 of the second, and put Minnesota ahead for good at 3:59 of the third. Kirill Kaprizov had three assists and Jesper Wallstedt made 26 saves for his league-leading 13th win of the season. Toronto lost its fifth straight game.

Minnesota struck first when Boldy picked off an outlet pass from Troy Stecher, traded passes with Kaprizov in front of the net and lifted the puck over the glove of Anthony Stolarz. Toronto answered in the second period. Auston Matthews scored his first goal of November at 4:05 and Zack MacEwen, who set up the Matthews goal, put the Maple Leafs ahead 2-1 at 6:59. MacEwen finished with a goal and an assist for Toronto.

Boldy takes the game back

A cross-checking penalty to Darren Raddysh gave Minnesota the power play it needed. Boldy tied the game 2-2 at 9:55 of the second with a one-timer from a pass by Quinn Hughes, who extended his point streak to at least 10 games. The winner came early in the third. William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson crossed up their coverage on the rush and left Boldy alone in front. He took a drop pass from Ryan Hartman and slipped a wrist shot under the glove of Stolarz at 3:59. Michael McCarron scored on a rebound at 7:34 and Danila Yurov hit an empty net at 19:03. Yurov finished with a goal and an assist. Stolarz made 21 saves for Toronto.

Why it matters

Minnesota improved to 14-3-4 and has won five of its last six games, with points in 10 straight. The Wild did it without center Joel Eriksson Ek for the last half of the game. He did not return after a heavy collision with Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe in the second period. Toronto's slide is now five straight losses, seven in eight games, and five straight regulation losses at home for the first time since the 1990-91 season. The Maple Leafs held a 28-26 edge in shots and still gave up three goals in the third period.

What happens next

Toronto stays home to continue a six-game homestand that has started with two losses. Minnesota keeps collecting points on the road, and Boldy now has two hat tricks this season.