By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
Saturday night in Minnesota, the Boston Bruins suffered their first defeat of the 2026-2027 campaign, falling 4-1 to the Wild and dropping to 2-1-0 in the young season. Michael DiPietro was steady between the pipes in his first NHL start since January of 2022, but the Black and Gold were not effective enough on special teams or in finding the back of the net to earn two points against the talented Wild.
The Bruins were certainly tested coming into this contest. Boston was on the second leg of a road back-to-back against a well-rested Wild team playing in their home opener. Minnesota had been idle since Thursday.
First Period
The fourth line got the Bruins on the board early on in the contest. Mark Kasletic corralled the puck behind the goal line to serve a feed to Connor Clifton on the right point. The defenseman intentionally shot the puck wide off the boards. Kastelic, anchored in front of the goal, tipped the puck to Tanner Jeannot. The fourth line forward then promptly ripped the puck home past Jesper Wallstedt from close range.
Defensively, the Bruins showed strong structure and did a solid job controlling the high-end offensive skills of Quinn Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, and Matt Boldy. DiPietro was poised between the pipes, stopping all six shots his way and smartly taking plenty of faceoffs when the Wild pressured offensively. The Bruins dictated play and outshot the Wild 8-6.
Second Period
Special teams would decide the middle frame. As an early Bruins power play wound down without extending the lead on the man advantage, Casey Mittelstadt took an offensive zone penalty by interfering with Boldy.
On their five-on-four, Minnesota got to work. From below the goal line, Maxim Shabanov made a slick pass through Jonathan Aspirot. Sean Kuraly could not eliminate Kaprizov in time, as the talented forward found space just in front of the blue paint. A player of Kaprizov’s caliber knows how to take advantage of that situation, and he quickly snapped home the game-tying score.
Then in the middle of the period, the Bruins and DiPietro had to deal with an extended five-on-three after Nikita Zadorov and Clifton were called for back-to-back infractions. The Boston penalty killers were active at taking away prime scoring chances and did not allow a goal in that situation. But Minnesota still had a few ticks to work with for an abbreviated five-on-four on an offensive zone draw.
After the faceoff win, Hughes showed his world-class talent by shaking Kuraly off of him and ripping home a snapshot in between the outer edges of the circles. The Wild took a 2-1 lead off the Hughes tally, and that would be the score heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Third Period
Minnesota would add to their lead early on in the frame. Wild captain Jared Spurgeon fired a shot off the rush from the right wing. The puck found its way past DiPietro and in to give the home team the all-important two-goal lead. Whether the puck was deflected slightly or Zadorov screened the netminder, that was a shot DiPietro needed to save.
The Bruins got two late chances on the man advantage to cut into Minnesota’s lead, but Boston was unable to solve Wallstedt. They generated good looks from Fraser Minten and Morgan Geekie, but the Wild netminder remained effective between the pipes. Late in the contest, Kaprizov salted the game away with an empty net tally to give Minnesota the 4-1 win and hand the Bruins their first loss of the season.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, this game was won and lost on special teams. The Wild potted two power play goals, including a massive score after just failing to find the back of the net on their five-on-three. Minnesota is a terrific squad, and Boston was reminded early on this season what it feels like to compete against a truly elite NHL team.
The Bruins will be back home Monday night to take on the Ottawa Senators. If Boston can clean up their special teams and rekindle their finishing ability, they should be in a good spot back at TD Garden.
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