Matt Boldy's Hat Trick Sends the Wild Past Toronto, 5-2, as the Maple Leafs Drop a Fifth Straight at Home

Matt Boldy did not need long to remind Toronto why Minnesota sits atop the Central Division. The Wild winger scored three times, including the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Wild beat the Maple Leafs 5-2 on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena, handing Toronto its fifth straight regulation loss on home ice.

It was Boldy's second hat trick of the season and the sixth of his career, The Canadian Press reported. Kirill Kaprizov finished with three assists, Michael McCarron and Danila Yurov also scored, and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 shots.

Boldy opened the scoring in the first period after a Troy Stecher exit pass sprang Kaprizov, who found his linemate. Toronto answered with two goals in less than three minutes early in the second. Auston Matthews tied the game on a short breakaway for his 12th goal of the season, and Zack MacEwen, who had been a game-time decision because of a wrist injury suffered Tuesday, put the Leafs ahead 2-1.

The lead did not last. Defenseman Darren Raddysh went to the penalty box midway through the second period, and Boldy tied the game on the power play, with Quinn Hughes collecting an assist. That point stretched Hughes' point streak to at least 10 games for the third time in his career, tying Phil Housley for the second-most such runs by an American defenseman, behind Brian Leetch's four, according to The Canadian Press.

Boldy completed the hat trick 3:59 into the third, after William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson got their signals crossed on the rush and left him an open lane. McCarron, parked in front of the net, cashed in a rebound after Toronto killed a second Raddysh minor, and Yurov sealed it with an empty-net goal to finish with two points. Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz made a couple of clutch saves to keep his team close before Minnesota's pressure finally broke through, the Toronto Sun wrote.

The numbers are grim for the Leafs. Toronto fell to 8-11-2 and is 1-7-0 over its last eight games. Its 18 points leave it just one point ahead of last-place Detroit in the Atlantic Division. According to Gino Hard, the last Maple Leafs team to lose five straight at home in regulation was the 1990-91 club, and Utah, Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado and Minnesota have outscored Toronto 22-9 across those five games.

The Toronto Sun noted that the Leafs have scored only nine goals over their last five and that a loss to Edmonton on Saturday would leave them without a win on a six-game homestand for the first time in the organization's long history. Coach Jim Hiller pointed to breakdowns in the neutral zone after the game, and fans online spent the night calling for changes behind the bench and in the front office run by general manager John Chayka.

Injuries have not helped. Veteran defenseman Chris Tanev sat out for load management, his second scratch in three games, as the club handles his recovery from an October upper-body injury carefully, and Hiller said Tanev would return Saturday. Cole McWard took his spot in the lineup. Morgan Rielly remains out with a lower-body injury.

The Wild are 14-3-4, they are 8-0-2 over their last 10 games, and they have not lost in regulation since Oct. 22 at Calgary. The Toronto Sun reported they have won six straight on the road and matched the franchise's best point total at this stage of a season.

What stands out is how they are winning. Boldy finishes, Kaprizov sets the table, Hughes moves the puck from the back end, and a grinder like McCarron does the dirty work in front of the net. Nobody has to be the whole show. That is hockey the way it ought to be played: humble, hardworking and committed to the man in the next stall.

Toronto is the cautionary tale. The Leafs have skill up and down the lineup, and Matthews is still scoring, but skill does not cover for a blown read in the neutral zone or two players crossing signals on the rush with the game tied. Talent is a gift. Discipline is a choice, and right now the Wild are making it every night.

Minnesota could soon get a lift on the blue line: defenseman Brock Faber, who fractured his skull in the preseason, could return this weekend, The Canadian Press reported. The Wild visit Boston on Saturday.

The Leafs host the Edmonton Oilers the same night, with Tanev expected back, and they will have to slow a Connor McDavid who has a point in all 20 games he has played this season. A win would stop the bleeding. Another loss would turn a bad week into a historic one.