Wild Dominate Kraken with Early Scoring Surge in 4-0 Victory

ST. PAUL, MN – Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy, and Liam Ohgren struck just 1 minute and 42 seconds apart early in the first period, propelling the Minnesota Wild to a commanding 4-0 win over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson was stellar, stopping all 34 shots he faced for his fifth shutout of the season. Boldy added an empty-net goal late in the game, and the Wild closed the gap to just two points behind third-place Colorado in the Central Division standings.

Gustavsson has been a rock at home recently, posting a 4-1-1 record in his last six appearances with a 1.48 goals-against average, a .949 save percentage, and two shutouts. On the other side, Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves in the loss.

Minnesota wasted no time setting the tone—Hartman opened the scoring at 2:47, firing from the slot. Just over a minute later, Boldy followed suit from nearly the same spot at 3:59. Ohgren then finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Frederick Gaudreau just 30 seconds later, giving the Wild a staggering 3-0 lead within the first 4 minutes and 29 seconds. That scoring blitz marked the fastest three-goal start to a game in the NHL this season.

Before this offensive explosion, Minnesota had gone seven straight games without a first-period goal, with their last early tally coming back on March 4—also against Seattle.

Despite playing their fourth game in six days, the Kraken outshot the Wild 34-28 but suffered only their second regulation loss in their last seven games.

Minnesota suffered a setback when center Marco Rossi, who ranks third on the team with 21 goals, exited in the first period with a lower-body injury after being hit by a Boldy shot. Rossi is one of just three Wild players to have suited up for every game this season.

Boldy’s two-goal performance snapped a 12-game scoring drought. His 23 goals now tie him with Kirill Kaprizov—who has played just three games since December 23—for the team lead.

Seattle’s struggles in back-to-back games continued, as the Kraken fell to 0-11 in the second game of consecutive matchups this season. They had defeated Chicago 6-2 on Tuesday before falling flat in Minnesota.

Up Next

Both teams return to action on Saturday: Seattle visits Edmonton, while Minnesota hosts Buffalo.