Boldy scores in regulation and shootout as Wild beat Flames 3-2
By Brian Hall, The Associated Press on December 14, 2023.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy scored in the shootout to lift the Minnesota Wild over the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Thursday night. Boldy and Marco Rossi scored in regulation for Minnesota, which is now 6-2 since John Hynes took over as coach for Dean Evason. Filip Gustavsson stopped 36 shots in goal for the Wild. Yegor Sharangovich and Blake Coleman scored while Dan Vladar made 30 saves for the Flames, who are 1-5-1 in their last seven games. Sharangovich also had a goal in the shootout, but Gustavsson stopped Nazem Kadri as the fourth shooter to preserve the win. Boldy has seven goals and two assists in the eight games since Hynes took control. He scored his eighth goal of the season in the first period after the puck popped free after a battle along the boards. Sharangovich is on his own scoring streak, scoring for the fourth straight game. He scored on the power play in the second, tapping in an easy goal after a pass across the crease from Elias Lindholm. Sharangovich has five goals in the past four games. Calgary took a lead in the third when Coleman’s pass to Sharangovich went off defenceman Brock Faber’s skate and into the goal. Coleman was credited with his ninth goal of the season and it was the sixth short-handed goal of the season for the Flames, which is tied for the third-most in the NHL. But Minnesota answered just 45 seconds later when Rossi one-timed a long rebound from Vladar to score for the second game in a row. Rossi has 10 goals, which is second behind Connor Bedard among NHL rookies. Both teams were missing important pieces of their defensive core. Minnesota placed Jonas Brodin on long-term injured reserve a day earlier with an upper-body injury and captain Jared Spurgeon was held out with a lower-body injury. Brodin was seen in pictures on social media with a cast on his right wrist/arm at a team function. Spurgeon is considered day-to-day. Chris Tanev, an assistant captain for Calgary, missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. The team is still without goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who missed his seventh straight game with a fractured finger. UP NEXT Flames: Return home against Tampa Bay on Saturday. Wild: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL 18-17
