Eriksson Ek has goal, assist; Pastrnak gets 20th for Boston
Recap: Bruins @ Wild 12.23.23
ST. PAUL, Minn. —<\/strong> Kirill Kaprizov<\/a>\u00a0scored for the third straight game, helping the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.
Kaprizov scored in overtime in the Wild\u2019s previous two games, including their 4-3 win at Boston on Tuesday. He has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak.
\u201cSince I’ve been here, I haven’t seen a difference in [Kaprizov\u2019s] game,\u201d Minnesota coach John Hynes said. \u201cFor me, I would just say that he’s getting rewarded for it. There were a couple times, maybe the first few games we were here, I was getting the same questions about Kirill. But the production wasn’t there, but his game was there. And now you’re getting the production.
\u201cI think when you’re an elite player like him, and you play the game the right way and play to the style of game that he has, it’s kind of what I said, it wasn’t \u2018if.\u2019 It was going to be \u2018when\u2019 — when those points were going to come in, and his production was going to come, and now it’s here.\u201d
BOS@MIN: Kaprizov goes glove side from slot in 2nd
Joel Eriksson Ek<\/a> had a goal and an assist, and Marcus Foligno<\/a> also scored for Minnesota (15-13-4) which has won six of seven. Marc-Andre Fleury<\/a> made 19 saves.
David Pastrnak<\/a> scored his 20th goal of the season, and Linus Ullmark<\/a> made 32 saves for Boston (19-7-7) which has lost four straight (0-2-2) and six of seven (2-3-2), including a 5-1 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
\u201cI liked the first 15 minutes of our game, and I liked the last 10 minutes of our game,\u201d Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. \u201cWe just need more concerted effort. People [have] got to stay in the moment. They can\u2019t worry about their previous shift or worry about what\u2019s happening in five minutes. They\u2019ve got to focus and reset and go out there for that next shift. As a staff, we\u2019ve got to do a better job here of making sure guys stay in the moment.\u201d
Fleury denied a Morgan Geekie<\/a> breakaway with a glove save at 1:44 of the first period, but Pastrnak scored on the power play with a one-timer from left face-off dot at 2:37 to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
Eriksson Ek tied it 1-1 on a power play at 5:57 of the second period, scoring on a rebound at the goalmouth.
The Wild went 1-for-5 on the power play.
\u201cHard to win in this league if you give up so many penalties,\u201d Pastrnak said. \u201cWe definitely have to be more disciplined.\u201d
Kaprizov put Minnesota in front 2-1 at 7:22 after Alex Goligoski<\/a> found him cutting through the slot.
The Wild outshot the Bruins 19-6 in the second.
Foligno increased the lead to 3-1 at 3:10 of the third period with a backdoor redirect off a Pat Maroon<\/a> pass.
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to like the second period,\u201d Foligno said. \u201cI thought it was complete domination there, and then the first part of the third, I thought we were good.\u201d
Geekie scored at 13:53 with a one-timer off a Danton Heinen<\/a> pass for the 3-2 final.
\u201cWill and compete is what it comes down to,\u201d Boston captain Brad Marchand<\/a> said. \u201cSeems like we\u2019re losing a lot of battles that we should be winning. We\u2019re not having that second effort, where when you watch the tape back and you see the second effort and compete level that other teams have right now that are doing well and having success. We need to up it right now.\u201d
NOTES:<\/strong> Bruins defenseman Ian Mitchell<\/a> played 10:50 in place of Kevin Shattenkirk<\/a>, who was scratched. \u2026 Fleury earned the 550th win of his NHL career and moved within one of tying Patrick Roy (551) for second on the NHL\u2019s all-time list. \u2026 Forward Jacob Lucchini<\/a> had one hit and two shots in 10:05 in his debut with Minnesota.<\/p>\n