Bruins Fall 4-1 in Saint Paul as Wild Score Four Straight

Now listen, sweetheart. Put the kettle on, because this one got away from the boys fast.

The Bruins led 1-0 after the first period and looked like they had themselves a nice little road win going. Then the Minnesota Wild scored four unanswered — two of them off the stick of Kirill Kaprizov — and Boston never got close again. Final score: Wild 4, Bruins 1. The Bruins fall to 2-1-0 on the season, 1-1-0 on the road. Minnesota improves to 2-0-0 and leads the season series 1-0.

Here's the part that'll make you sigh into your tea: Boston actually struck first. Tanner Jeannot buried a wrist shot just 1:53 into the game, assisted by Mark Kastelic and Connor Clifton, and for a few shifts it looked like a cozy little lead. One goal, one point for Jeannot on the night, and that was the entirety of Boston's offense. I'm not mad. I'm just saying — one goal does not win you a hockey game, dear.

Minnesota answered in the second period. Kaprizov tied it with a snap shot off a backdoor feed from Maxim Shabanov on the power play, 1-1. Then Quinn Hughes — a defenseman, mind you, the kind of player my late husband would've wanted moving the puck more — snapped a wrist shot through traffic on another power play to make it 2-1 Wild. Boston went 0-for-3 on the man advantage all night. Zero. You cannot give the other team that many free looks and expect to keep up, no matter how good your pastry is.

Things got away from the Bruins in the third. Jared Spurgeon's wrist shot deflected off Nikita Zadorov on its way past goalie Michael DiPietro to make it 3-1, and then late in the period Kaprizov struck again — his second of the night — to close it out 4-1. DiPietro finished with 26 saves on 29 shots; his counterpart, Jesper Wallstedt, stopped 26 of 27 and was the first star of the game. Hughes picked up the second star with a goal and an assist, and Jonas Brodin was the third star for Minnesota.

Boston was outshot 30-27 but still threw its weight around, 16 hits to 14 for the Bruins — though they also gave the puck away 24 times to Minnesota's 20, and that power play futility is the kind of thing that keeps a grandmother up worrying. JJ Peterka, who came over from Utah in that big trade this summer, had two shots on goal but no points yet in black and gold. Fraser Minten, the young man who just signed that seven-year extension, was held off the scoresheet too. Give it time, loves. Contracts don't score goals. Legs do.

Next up for Boston: Monday, October 5th at 7:30 PM Eastern against the Ottawa Senators. Plenty of time to tighten up that penalty kill — I mean power play — before then. I'll have the radio on.