Wild’s Matt Boldy likely to return after missing four games

The Minnesota Wild appear likely to get a major boost to their lineup for Saturday night’s game, as head coach John Hynes told The Athletic‘s Joe Smith that he expects winger Matt Boldy to return to action.

Boldy, who is in the midst of a career season, has missed the past four games. The Wild have strung together a record of 3-1-0 during that stretch, as they continue to cement themselves as one of the best teams in the NHL.

In his first game back, Boldy is likely to join Joel Eriksson-Ek and Marcus Johansson on the second line while Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello comprise the first.

A six-foot-two native of Massachusetts, Boldy has 27 goals and 24 assists for 51 points in 48 games played this year. He is just four goals shy of matching his career high at 31, a mark he set during the 2022-23 campaign.

Boldy, who was a standout in a depth role last year for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, was named to the U.S. men’s roster for next month’s Winter Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina.

Thanks to a strong start and a blockbuster trade from general manager Bill Guerin to land a massive super star in Quinn Hughes, Minnesota is enjoying its best regular season in quite some time. The Wild are tied for second in the Central Division and third in the league-wide standings with a record of 29-14-9.

Minnesota is slated to host the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday night to wrap up their slate for the week. The injury-plagued Panthers are attempting to play their way back into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.

After Saturday’s contest, Minnesota will be idle until next Tuesday, when they’ll welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to Grand Casino Arena.