Greenway out, Boldy scores again in Boston to start Wild’s first road trip
Jordan Greenway is out of commission again for the Wild.
The winger was placed on injured reserve and did not travel to Boston after suffering an upper-body injury Thursday vs. Vancouver in his season debut, exiting after just six shifts and 2 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time.
Greenway was returning from offseason shoulder surgery, but coach Dean Evason said this wasn't the same injury.
"It's a different one and hopefully not as serious," Evason told reporters in Boston after the Wild's 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins on Saturday at the outset of a five-game road trip.
With Greenway out, Connor Dewar was back in action after being scratched for the 4-3 overtime win against the Canucks. He picked up an assist on the Wild's first goal, a shorthanded breakaway from linemate Brandon Duhaime.
Tyson Jost took Greenway's place alongside Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno, the same spot Jost started the season in while Greenway was still on the mend.
Back in Boston
Matt Boldy keeps making trips to Boston memorable.
After the Massachusetts native and former Boston College standout scored the game-winning goal in his NHL debut last season at TD Garden, Boldy was also impactful in Round 2, putting the puck in the net twice although only one ended up counting.
"He's an elite, elite hockey player," Evason said.
The 21-year-old winger trimmed the Wild's deficit to 3-2 in the second period when he deflected in a Mats Zuccarello shot on the power play, and Boldy appeared to tie the game in the third with another power play tally. But the goal was waved off after video review showed Boldy used a kicking motion to direct the puck by Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark.
Boldy finished with a team-high four shots, and the second-year player seemed to be developing chemistry with Marco Rossi, who centered Boldy and Frederick Gaudreau for a second straight game. The line combined for eight shots.
Overall, this has been an effective start to the season for Boldy, who was drafted by the Wild 12th overall in 2019.
His three goals trail only Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov on the Wild (they have four apiece), and he's tied for third in scoring with six points. Half of that production came on the power play, with Boldy getting reps on the first unit alongside the likes of Zuccarello and Kaprizov.
In 52 career games, Boldy is up to 18 goals, 27 assists and 45 points.
To put that debut in perspective, only two active U.S.-born players have scored more through 50 games: Brock Boeser (45 points) and Patrick Kane (45). Boldy registered his 44th career point in his 50th appearance last Monday vs. Colorado.
Merrill returns
Jon Merrill played his first game of the season on Saturday, making his return from offseason surgery on an upper-body injury.
Merrill started the afternoon with rookie Calen Addison but eventually began taking shifts with captain Jared Spurgeon. In all, the 30-year-old defenseman logged 14:13, with almost three and a half minutes of that ice time coming on the penalty kill. Merrill also had three blocked shots.
This is Merrill's second season with the Wild after signing a three-year, $3.6 million contract extension back in January.
Alex Goligoski was scratched, the lone extra on defense. The Wild are also carrying an additional forward in Mason Shaw.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
