ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild finally got the job done during regular business hours.

They held off the Flames, 4-1, on Thursday, Jan. 29, at Grand Casino Arena, to clock out on time after their previous three games went past regulation.

Danila Yurov and Vinnie Hinostroza scored during a less-is-more run for the Wild offense: Their first two goals came on three shots in the first period, and they had only five more in the second before a clutch insurance goal on the power play by Matt Boldy late in the third after Calgary was getting close to the equalizer.

Kirill Kaprizov added an empty-net goal with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to go.

Filip Gustavsson made 29 stops for the Wild, and Devin Cooley had 18 for the Flames.

How it happened

Cooley looked like he could be in store for a busy night based on how the game started.

Just 2:43 into the first period, Yurov polished off a strong passing sequence by the Wild, with Daemon Hunt one-timing the puck to Vladimir Tarasenko, who forward it to the front of the net where Yurov whacked it past Cooley.

By 10:37, the Wild doubled their lead on Hinostroza’s first goal in 25 games after he caught an airborne pass from Jake Middleton and dropped the puck in front of him before wiring it into the Calgary net.

Turning point

The Wild would go shotless the rest of the first period and didn’t test Cooley much more in the second and third.

Gustavsson was sharp, including on the penalty kill, where he denied all nine shots by the Flames during their three power plays. But the Wild were in perilous territory after Morgan Frost capitalized on a 2-on-1 shot off the rush 5:49 into the third period.

But getting their first two power plays of the game late in the third ignited the Wild: Boldy redirected in a Kaprizov pass at 17:17 before Kaprizov tied him for the team lead in goals at 29 with his empty-netter.

Quinn Hughes’ assist on Boldy’s goal extended his assist streak to seven games, which tied the franchise record for a defenseman.

What it means

After three consecutive overtimes for the Wild, the latter a 4-3 shootout win over the Blackhawks two nights earlier after they rallied from being down 3-0, the Wild were due for a lighter workload.

Their 21 combined appearances in overtime and the shootout are tied for the most in the NHL, but their efficiency went to the extreme vs. Calgary with how few shots they generated.

This was particularly a quiet game for the Wild’s offensive leaders until the final minutes of the third period, and the lopsided pressure could have cost them. But Gustavsson was locked in, and the Wild’s secondary scoring stepped up.

Up next

The Wild will be in Edmonton on Saturday night, Jan. 31, to face off against the Oilers.

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