Matt Boldy’s hat trick gives Minnesota 5-1 victory over Kraken

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s Matt Boldy scored a natural hat trick Monday night and chased Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer on the way to a 5-1 Wild victory.
It ended on a sour note, but Seattle finished a four-game trip 2-1-1.
Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz ensured all three of the regular-season games between the teams didn’t end in a shutout, at least. With his team trailing 5-0, Schwartz dove after a puck that had pinged off the goal post. He scored his 18th of the season.
Joel Eriksson Ek used his 6-foot-3 frame to screen Grubauer on the Wild’s first goal. Grubauer tried to peer around the center’s elbow as Jake Middleton unleashed his shot at the top of the faceoff circle. The puck whizzed by Eriksson Ek and Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn.
Dunn only delayed the inevitable on the Wild’s second goal, which involved the same trio in front of the net. Eriksson Ek swatted at a rebound in the crease and Dunn took a hooking penalty while trying to keep him occupied. Thirty seconds into the ensuing power play, Boldy made it 2-0.
The Kraken were buzzing during back-to-back shifts from Ryan Donato’s fourth line and Alex Wennberg’s second. They came close and had Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (35 saves) diving around but never got a shot across the line.
Boldy made it 3-0, hooking a shot through Kraken rookie Matty Beniers’ legs and inside the far goal post.
Just fifty seconds into the third period, Boldy sent at least a hundred hats to the ice and Grubauer to the bench. Seattle’s starting goaltender stopped nine of 13 shots.
Martin Jones entered the game and gave up the fifth goal to Ryan Hartman. Jones made six saves on seven shots.
Brandon Tanev and Connor Dewar shoved their way to the puck along the boards and Tanev went down, sliding in feet first. Carson Soucy tied up Dewar and Donato took it further, squaring off with Dewar for a quick fight.
With just over a minute left in the game, Yanni Gourde also dropped the gloves in response to an open-ice hit on teammate Soucy.