ST. PAUL, Minn — The Wild had the puck for most of Saturday’s overtime.
They had the players they wanted on the ice, too, with Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov playing two of the three minutes of the 3-on-3 session. It didn’t matter. A Boldy turnover inside the Panthers’ blue line led to a 2-on-1, and Brad Marchand finished it off to hand Minnesota a 4-3 defeat at Grand Casino Arena.
Boldy, who looked strong in his return after missing four games (lower body injury), had a drop pass from Hughes bounce off his stick, which led to Carter Verhaeghe picking it off to start the rush.
“You try to make plays,” Boldy said. “A lot of possession, but you don’t want to give it away too quick. They were able to find one on that little break there. I wish I was able to handle that pass.”
It was a triumphant return for Marchand, who had missed the last seven games with an injury. His OT goal, his second of the game, gave the Panthers their fifth win in their last seven.
“It was so good,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “You get to see it on TV, the puck’s in the net, but the emotion in the room, right? The bench. Every time you can bring a player like that. We miss those guys so much all year, and you can see the difference.”
The Wild are tied with the Kings with an NHL-high 20 overtime games, including six of their last nine. Unlike Thursday’s game against Detroit, when Kaprizov’s heroics led them to a victory, they couldn’t convert, falling to 10-10 in OT games.
This was a really fast-paced, entertaining game, but it was also a weird one. There were so many penalties, with each team having six power plays (both 2-for-6). Wild coach John Hynes had hoped they’d use their depth and roll four lines, but it was hard to get into a rhythm with all the special teams.
“It felt like even though there was a lot of PKs, we had control of the game a little bit,” goalie Filip Gustavsson said.
Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Boldy scored for the Wild, giving them a one-goal lead with eight minutes to go. Sam Bennett scored just over a minute later. Despite all the offensive zone time, Minnesota had zero shots on goal in OT.
“Sometimes, the other team does a good job too in the zone with man on man,” Hynes said. “We didn’t generate a look, but there wasn’t really a look to be generate as well.”
Boldy back
Boldy wasted little time in making an impact. He had a short-handed partial breakaway attempt in the first period that was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky. In the third, Boldy gave the Wild a go-ahead goal with eight minutes left, making a steal at the blue line of a Marchand pass and taking it all the way.
“It was more of a system thing, I think,” Boldy said. “Just trying to hold that blue line and make it harder to enter. You give (our defensemen) and (Eriksson Ek) kind of playing that as well as they did, keeping him to the outside. I was able to be in the right spot and get a breakaway.”
It’s that kind of heady play and hand-eye coordination that has made Boldy, who is tied with Kaprizov for the team lead with 28 goals, an effective penalty killer all season. “He’s such a skilled player for us,” Gustavsson said. “He drives this team on the offensive (side). Loved to have him back.”
Boldy said his injury was nagging him for a while, and it finally got to a point where he had to sit out and rehab. However, he said he was never worried about his availability for the upcoming Olympics, and felt good after playing 22:55 on Saturday. The same went for Eriksson Ek, who was in his second game back after missing the previous six.
“I’m good now,” Eriksson Ek said. “Shouldn’t bother me anymore.”
Turning point
The Wild appeared to take control on Boldy’s short-handed goal in the third. The Panthers stuck with it and tied the game, though, on the same power play on a tap-in goal by Bennett.
Faber made a diving play to try to clear the puck, but it went off the shin pad of Marchand and right to Matthew Tkachuk, who caught Gustavsson in a tough spot.
“We’re in the zone there, and it feels like we are so close to clearing it,” Gustavsson said. “I’m stuck on my post a little bit, and I’m falling behind on the play and he has an open net.”
“You think you played pretty darn well, and it’s not much time left on the clock, but those guys, good pros, right?” Maurice said. “Shake it off and get it back. So that would be the turning point of the game, and set up an opportunity, at least for us, in overtime.”
Said Bennett: “You could either sit back and be upset about that, or you could just go out there and get one back, and that’s what we did.”
Odds and ends
* Boldy’s return reunited him with the linemates he’s worked so well with this season: Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson. Danila Yurov centered a third line with Marcus Foligno and Vladimir Tarasenko. Yakov Trenin-Nico Sturm-Vinnie Hinostroza were the fourth line.
* Zach Bogosian (lower body) remains sidelined, but is still considered day to day. David Jiricek drew in for the second straight game on the third pair with Daemon Hunt.
* Hynes coached in his 800th game in the NHL, becoming the fourth American-born coach to reach the milestone.
* Linesman Steve Barton left the game and didn’t return after a collision on the Wild bench. The Panthers’ A.J. Greer was hit by David Jiricek into the Minnesota bench. Barton was sitting on the bench to avoid play, and when Greer got knocked into the bench, he ran into Barton, who fell backwards and banged his head. The Wild staff got the attention of the refs and they stopped play.
* Marc-Andre Fleury, Alex Goligoski and Eric Staal were the distinguished Wild alumni who were part of the ceremonial faceoff as part of the team’s 25th anniversary season celebration.
Game on
The NBA postponed Saturday night’s game between the Timberwolves and Warriors in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of a city resident by federal agents; the league said it was to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community.” The game was rescheduled for Sunday.
The Wild did consult with police and the NHL before playing Saturday’s scheduled game in St. Paul, and were assured fans would be safe, per a team source. There was no moment of silence held before the game.