Wild douse Flames to improve to 4-0 since coaching change

CALGARY, Alberta — Whatever John Hynes and the Wild are cooking up, it seems to be sticking to the ribs.

Minnesota Wild forward Brandon Duhaime, center, shoves Calgary Flames defenseman Ilya Solovyov, right, as goalie Daniel Vladar follows the play during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Matt Boldy scored two goals, and Marcus Foligno scored his first goal since Oct. 26 as Minnesota extended its record under new head coach Hynes to 4-0 with a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday at Scotiabank Saddledome.

It’s Minnesota’s first four-game winning streak since Feb. 26-March 4 last season and a good start to a four-game trip that continues Thursday and Friday at Vancouver and Edmonton, respectively, before finishing Sunday in Seattle.

Filip Gustavsson stopped 28 shots, and Mats Zuccarello extended his points streak to 10 games with an assist on a Kirill Kaprizov goal just 45 seconds into the second period. The Wild are outscoring their opponents by a combined 18-5 during this streak.

Tuesday marked exactly one week since Hynes succeeded Dean Evason, fired at the tail end of a seven-game losing streak (0-5-2).

Foligno started the scoring quickly, getting loose for a breakaway after Matt Boldy intercepted a stray Flames pass in the neutral zone and sent it back toward Foligno in the Wild zone.

Foligno raced across the neutral zone, with Boldy at his left, skated around defenseman Ilya Solovyov, and snapped a shot top shelf, right side. It got past Flames goalie Dan Vladar but quickly bounced out after hitting the support beam.

Play continued for another 30 seconds, but a video review showed Foligno had scored. Play was stopped, and 37 seconds were put back on the clock. It was Foligno’s third goal this season and first since Oct. 26 in Philadelphia.

Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson, right, takes the puck past goalie Filip Gustavsson, left, as Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane chases him during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Wild continued to dictate play in the first but didn’t increase their lead, despite outshooting Calgary 13-5. They’re now outscoring opponents in the first period 9-1 under Hynes and have never trailed in four games.

They increased the lead quickly in the second period.

Kaprizov finished a quick rush when he tapped in a shot off the post by Marco Rossi. The rush started with Jonas Brodin skating the puck into the neutral zone and passing to Zuccarello, who skated to the right circle, spun around and found Rossi moving toward the slot.

Rossi shot quickly, and Kaprizov was alone at the right corner of the crease to finish and make it 2-0 just 45 seconds into the period.

Boldly made it 3-0 just 35 seconds later. He skated the puck into the zone and had the puck poked away by Blake Coleman. But Mackenzie Dweegar deflected it right back to Boldy, and he skated into the slot and set a wrist shot past Vladar at 1:30.

That prompted Calgary coach Ryan Huska to pull Vladar, who was starting in place of injured Jacob Markstrom, who fractured a finger during practice on Monday. Dustin Wolf, recalled from the Flames’ AHL team in Calgary, relieved and played well, but the Wild got him with a power play goal at 13:58 when Boldy redirected a pass to the slot by Boldy.

The Flames cut the lead to 4-2 on a deflection by Connor Zary just 1:34 into the third period, and nearly made it a one-goal game shortly after when Walker Duehr skated the puck alone between the circles and sent a wrist shot on goal. But Gustavsson gloved it to keep it a two-goal game.

Eriksson Ek all but sealed the victory with his team-leading 12th goal, set up when Marcus Johnansson stole a puck in the offensive zone and passed to his center. Eriksson Ek’s shot hit the crease just as Wolf and teammate Nazem Kadre collided in the net.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous post Man gets new trial after being convicted of murder based on blind witness’s testimony
Next post Chicago Cubs believe they remain in the mix for superstar Shohei Ohtani: ‘We have not been given a status check’