Boldy misses time in 1st after face-plant from hit to head, before brilliant assist and two-OT loss

Audio By Carbonatix

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Wild right wing Matt Boldy was sidelined for about half of the first period of Game 3 of the first-round NHL playoff series against Dallas after face-planting on the ice following a hit to the head from Stars captain Jamie Benn.

Boldy's return for the second period gave the Wild a big lift, before a late fade in a 4-3 loss in double overtime.

Just after the expiration of a Dallas power play early in the game, Benn left his feet as he converged on Boldy in the Wild zone and appeared to cross-check him with his stick in the back of the head. Boldy struck the ice face-first and stayed face down for several seconds, until a whistle came.

He slowly climbed to one knee, looking woozy before skating off. No penalty was called. After sitting down on the bench during the stoppage, Boldy was eventually taken up the tunnel for further examination, a mandatory practice for concussion evaluation.

The Wild were already playing Game 3 without forwards Mats Zuccarello and Yakov Trenin because of upper body injuries they suffered over the first two games they split in Dallas, making Boldy's absence appear dire. The U.S. Olympic team member had a career-high 42 goals with 43 assists during the regular season.

But the 2019 first-round draft pick skated out for warmups before the second period to a loud road from the crowd, who soon after started chanting his last name following a highlight-reel assist.

He weaved through four Stars skaters and drew a crowd behind the net before zipping the puck back into the slot for Joel Eriksson Ek to knock in and tie the game at 2. The slick stick work was reminiscent of his highlight-reel goal for Team USA at the Olympics earlier this year when he sliced between two Canada defenders to score.

“Just trying to make a play," Boldy said. "I didn’t think I had a shot, so I just tried to get around them. Ek did a great job getting open.”

Midway through the third period, Boldy nearly gave the Wild a two-goal lead, but Matt Duchene executed a textbook backcheck to avert the short-handed score. Then Duchene tied it with Dallas still on a power play a few seconds later.

“I tried to get to it,” Boldy said. “Sometimes they go in. Sometimes they don’t.”

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL