Wild Win the Slot Against Bruins
Kaprizov buries while Wallstedt turns away the best of it; Shabanov pings iron on a night decided by chance quality.
This felt like a Minnesota Wild game from the jump: they owned the quality battle and kept the Boston Bruins at arm’s length. The chances Minnesota created added up to more expected goals — 4.19 to 2.68 — a gap that matched the eye test and, eventually, the scoreboard.
The finishing and the goaltending lined up with that edge. Kirill Kaprizov cashed twice, exactly in step with the dangerous looks he generated. At the other end, Jesper Wallstedt was tidy and then some, posting 1.68 goals saved above expected — turning Boston’s few premium looks into single-saves and resets. Minnesota even won the volume game, nudging the shot attempts their way (53–50), and their power play did real damage at 2-for-3.
For Boston, the problem wasn’t shot count so much as where they came from. Michael DiPietro finished below expected and spent the night reacting to Wild looks from prime spots. The moment that summed it up: Max Shabanov smoked the post — no goal, but a perfect picture of how threatening Minnesota’s entries were.