The Boston Bruins fell to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday evening in a tightly contested affair, as Boston College alumn Matt Boldy potted his first career NHL goal for Minnesota in front of friends and family. The Bruins lost their first home game since December 14 and their home record dropped to 9-6-1 at TD Garden.
The first period brought most of the offense for the game. The two clubs combined for 24 shots on net as well as three goals. The first man to light the lamp was Taylor Hall. Hall scored on the power play 6:35 in the opening period for his seventh goal of the season and third on the man advantage.
Almost 10 minutes went by until the next goal, but Kirill Kaprizov added to his team-leading point total. Kaprizov’s goal also came on the power play and went as his 14th goal of the season. Shortly after Kaprizov’s score, Minnesota added another tally on the PP. Nico Sturm scored his fifth goal of the season about a minute and a half after Kaprizov. The Wild went into the first intermission up 2-1 on Boston.
The second period also provided scores for both sides, but it wasn’t enough for the B’s to grab the lead back. Almost 12 and a half minutes in the period, Boldy recorded his first career goal and point in the NHL. Boldy’s goal was also the only even-strength goal of the contest. With five minutes left in the second, Brad Marchand notched his 12th goal of the year on the power play.
The third period was dominated by Boston in terms of shots as they led 17-6. However, they couldn’t find the back of the net in the final period. The Wild played very well defensively and had a lot of help from goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen who held out to win the game for his team.
Kahkonen posted a .947 save percentage and earned his fifth win of the year. Kahkonen’s season stats add up to a .913 save percentage, 2.67 GAA and a 5-2-1 record.
Jeremy Swayman, on the other hand, didn’t have his best outing in net. Swayman finished with a .900 save percentage and lost his fifth game in regulation and the seventh game overall. The 23-year-old’s season stats now come up to a .920 save percentage, 2.21 GAA and 8-5-2 record.
The Bruins hope to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Tampa. They’ll play the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 8 as they hope to get their ninth road win of the season. Puck drop will take place at 7:00 p.m. EST at Amalie Arena.
Thank you for reading; if you’d like to see more content, sign up for our daily newsletter here