Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Wild blank Blues in season-opening win

Originally posted on Bring Me The News
By Jonathan Harrison | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 10:48 PM ET

Ryan Hartman didn't wait long to pick up where he left off in the playoffs, scoring the Wild's season-opening goal with 4:06 left in the first period. Minnesota may not have dominated the possession and were frequently under pressure, but they never looked back in a 5-0 season-opening win over the Blues.

St. Louis came out of the gates as the aggressor, playing a much more physical brand of hockey that frustrated the Wild early. Minnesota came up empty on two first-period power plays and struggled with cheap giveaways as the opening period wore on. Hartman's goal came off some fancy stick handling, continuing the form he showed in the postseason, where he scored two goals and added four assists in the Wild's six playoff games.

A little under two minutes later, Minnesota doubled its lead on Matt Boldy's first goal of the season. Kirill Kaprizov initially whiffed on a shot. Marco Rossi chased down the errant puck, passed it back to Kaprizov, who dished in front of the net for Boldy to poke it in for Minnesota's second.

sit back... relax... and enjoy pic.twitter.com/x4Kk8zEc7b
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 10, 2025

Wild fans held their breath throughout the first intermission after veteran winger Marcus Foligno left the ice holding his wrist. Foligno blocked a late Blues shot as time ran out and immediately doubled over in pain. However, the 34-year-old was on the ice as the second period began.

St. Louis dominated the second period, opening with the first 14 shots and two early power plays in the first seven minutes. Still, it was Minnesota who scored a pair of goals in the period, despite creating very little offense.

Seconds into Minnesota's third power play of the night, Matt Boldy's blistering shot rang off the iron, only for Kaprizov to pounce on the rebound and find Joel Eriksson Ek on the back post to give the Wild a 3-0 lead 12 minutes into the second period.

Hartman scored his second of the night five minutes later on the Wild's fourth shot of the second period. Minnesota was outshot 16-4 in the second but entered the final period up 4-0 on the road.

Marco Rossi's first goal of the season helped send the St. Louis crowd home early. Seven minutes in the third period, Rossi picked up a loose puck off a Kaprizov shot and hammered it past Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington to give them their fifth of the night.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves in the season-opener as the Wild recorded their first shutout of the season. Both Karpizov and Boldy ended the night with three points, with Kirill recording three assists and Boldy registering one goal and two assists.

The Wild will return to St. Paul on Saturday for their home opener, welcoming the Columbus Blue Jackets to the newly-named Grand Casino Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT.

This article first appeared on Bring Me The News and was syndicated with permission.

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