ST. PAUL, Minn. – When the Minnesota Wild faced their second three-goal deficit of the second period, boos were audible from a home crowd that was well on the way to emptying out early for this holiday matinee.
Patience was rewarded for these fans, because the third period turned into a party — complete with two hat showers on the ice in a record-filled 10-7 win by the Wild over the NHL -leading Vancouver Canucks.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of something like that where they just kept going in, one after another," said Matt Boldy, who had a goal and three assists.
The scoring binge the league has been on the last few seasons spread to Minnesota, with hat tricks for Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov in a six-point game for each player that matched Marian Gaborik's franchise mark. The Wild became the third team in the NHL this season to hit the 10-goal mark, following the Canucks (Nov. 2) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (Nov. 4).
Here were the other statistical marvels Monday at Xcel Energy Center:
— Canucks center J.T. Miller had a hat trick himself. His third goal gave the Canucks a 5-2 lead with 5:30 left in the second period. This was the first regular season game in the NHL with three hat tricks since Nov. 8, 1992, when Mike Donnelly, Luc Robitaille and Jari Kurri all had three goals for the Los Angeles Kings in an 11-4 win over the San Jose Sharks.
— The Wild beat their franchise mark for goals in a game by two and also set their record for goals in a period by scoring seven times in the third. That was the most in a period by any NHL team since the Washington Capitals had eight in the second in a 10-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 3, 1999.
— Kaprizov had all three of his goals and one assist in the third period, matching Kevin Fiala (four assists on April 22, 2022,) for the Wild record with four points in one period.
— The Wild scored four goals in a span of 2:17 bridging the second intermission, their fastest such accomplishment in franchise history. The previous record (3:28) was set on March 6, 2018.
— With six goals in a 5:45 stretch, the Wild were also the fastest to do so in the league in 25 years since the Capitals in that 1999 win over the Lightning.
The first line of Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Boldy combined for 16 points.
“I think we all really want to play with the puck, so we compete hard for pucks and try to create those second opportunities,” Eriksson Ek said. “Just be a hard line to play against, then you have Kirill and Bolds with the amazing skills that they possess. Yeah, two easy guys to play with.”
Both Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek laughed in separate interviews with reporters when asked if they could recall their last experience on the ice tallying that many points.
And what about their team getting 10 goals?
“When I was maybe 5 years old,” Kaprizov said.
The Wild moved within two points of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference by beating the NHL leader.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL