Blues vs. Wild Recap: Boldy Hat Trick, Hughes Assists Cash

The Wild held off a late Blues push to win 5-4 in regulation. St. Louis struck first on a Jonatan Berggren power-play goal at 1:45 of the 1st, but Minnesota answered with a Matt Boldy power-play slap shot at 7:31 and a Danila Yurov wrist shot at 11:17 to lead 2-1 after one. Boldy finished with a hat trick, and Kirill Kaprizov added a goal and two assists. Minnesota outshot St. Louis 38-25. The Blues scored twice in the final four minutes, a Robert Thomas shorthanded goal at 16:00 of the 3rd and a Dylan Holloway goal at 19:45, but ran out of time. Three DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Quinn Hughes 1+ points (-215 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Hughes had a point in all 7 games this season (11 points) and in 10 of his last 10, and he was logging 22-32 minutes a night with Faber on IR and Spurgeon day-to-day. - What happened: 0 G, 2 A, 5 shots on goal in 25:17 of ice time, including 6:01 on the power play. He cleared the line by 1.5. The point came early: he set up Boldy's power-play goal at 7:31 of the 1st, then added the primary assist on Kaprizov's tip-in at 8:47 of the 2nd that made it 4-2. - Worth watching: Over 25 minutes and 6 minutes of power-play time is the usage that drives this prop. As long as he is running the top unit at that workload, the 1+ points angle stays worth a look at a fair price.

Mason McTavish 2+ shots on goal (-205 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: McTavish had 2+ shots in all 6 games this season (23 shots) and in 10 of his last 10. - What happened: 4 shots on goal and a goal in 14:36, clearing the line by 2.5. His backhand at 4:57 of the 2nd tied the game 2-2. - Worth watching: He got to 4 shots on under 15 minutes with less than a minute of power-play time. Volume on modest ice time is a good sign for this line going forward.

Joel Eriksson Ek 3+ shots on goal (-160 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Eriksson Ek had 3+ shots in 5 of 7 this season (20 shots) and 8 of his last 10 on 18-21 minutes a night. - What happened: Exactly 3 shots on goal, clearing by 0.5, with 2 assists and 4 hits. He played 23:12, above the 18-21 minute range in our read, with 5:21 on the power play. He assisted on Boldy's goals at 7:31 of the 1st and 5:24 of the 2nd. - Worth watching: This one landed with no room to spare. The extra ice time helped, so check his minutes and power-play role before backing the 3+ mark again.

How the game played out

The 2nd period swung it. McTavish tied the game at 4:57, and Boldy answered 27 seconds later. Kaprizov's tip-in at 8:47 and Boldy's third goal at 16:47 pushed the lead to 5-2. Minnesota scored once on five power plays, St. Louis once on two. Jesper Wallstedt made 21 saves on 25 shots for Minnesota, and Joel Hofer stopped 33 of 38 for St. Louis.

Trends to watch

• Minnesota's top group carried the night: Boldy, Kaprizov, Hughes and Eriksson Ek were in on four of the five Wild goals.
• Minnesota put 38 shots on Hofer and drew five power plays. Shot volume like that supports Wild skater shot props.
• Wallstedt faced only 25 shots. Low shot totals against Minnesota are worth noting when pricing opposing goalie saves props.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More hockey on the NHL hub, every game breakdown in NHL recaps, and how these markets work in our player prop guide.