Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 5, Bruins 0

Dan Myers gives three takeaways -- plus a bonus take -- from the Wild's 5-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at TD Garden in Boston:

1. In front of more than 70 friends and family in the stands, Charlie Coyle, the local boy, scored the Wild's first goal of the game.
After a sloppy start by both teams, Coyle got things going for the Wild 5:07 into the second when he fired an initial shot at Bruins goaltender Malcolm Subban from the right corner. Subban made the stop, but the rebound pinballed back to Coyle, who had skated to the top of the right circle. Coyle spun and fired again, and the puck snuck through a mass of legs in front and through the wickets of Subban for a 1-0 lead.
Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said Monday that he wanted the line of Coyle, Eric Staal and Nino Niederreiter to use its size to work down low and wear opponents out. A long cycle by the end of that line toward the end of the first period may have set the tone for Coyle's goal.
"It could've; could've been a different few plays that kind of did that," Coyle said. "But that's what we have to do as our line. We've got to work down low behind the net. We're three big guys, we've got to hang onto that and create stuff. That's why we're gonna get success."
For Coyle, a native of East Weymouth, Massachusetts, it was his first career goal and second point in seven games played against his favorite childhood team.

"Yeah, it feels good. It's a long time coming," Coyle said. "Everyone's always on me, causing stuff, 'Hey, are you gonna score this time?' Nice to get it out of the way."
2. For the first time on the road trip, the Wild was able to extend its lead to two goals.
Minnesota scored first in both New Jersey and New York, but surrendered the next goal in both games, eventually losing in overtime to the Devils and by three goals to the Islanders.
Not this time.
After Coyle's goal gave Minnesota the lead, Chris Stewart ripped a one-timer past Subban 12 seconds later to make it 2-0 Wild.

"After the first period, we knew we had to be better and we got that first one on kind of a bounce," said Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. "To add onto that was important because we didn't have a letdown. We got one and kept building after that."

The goal, Stewart's second of the year, came after a fantastic play behind the net by Joel Eriksson Ek, who fought off a pair of Bruins to win a battle for the puck and poked it to Stewart, who was all alone in front for the blast from point-blank range.
"It's always nice to see [Stewart] put them in," said Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk. "He means a lot to all of us in here. It's always fun to see him score, and that was a big goal for us."
The assist was Eriksson Ek's first in the NHL after he scored his first goal in his first game Saturday against the Devils.
3. Speaking of Eriksson Ek, the young Swede is making quite the impression in his first few days in the NHL.
The responsible, two-way centerman also assisted on Jason Zucker's goal late in the second that capped a four-goal period, giving him his first multi-point game.
In the third, Eriksson Ek gained his third point of the night when his initial shot was stopped by Zane McIntyre and Jason Pominville popped in the rebound.

On this trip, Eriksson Ek has already earned the trust of coach Bruce Boudreau, playing important minutes in a tie game late in New Jersey and seeing time on the penalty kill. After starting out on the fourth line, Eriksson Ek has already moved up to the third group and could be in for added responsibility as time goes on.
"It's not bad, three helpers for him, so that's good for him," Boudreau said. "We need it and he did a great job, and I am impressed, for a 19-year-old to do that."
Still only 19 years old, the Wild can keep Eriksson Ek around for nine games without burning a year of his contract. But if he continues to impress like he has, Eriksson Ek is going to make it really hard for Wild brass to send him back to Sweden.
4. Bonus Take: Dubnyk was outstanding for a third straight start, this time earning his first shutout of the season.
After stopping five shots in the first period, Dubnyk turned away 13 more in the second and nine in the third for his 20th career shutout and 11th since coming to Minnesota in January of 2015.
"It was really good," Boudreau said. "He was sharp, he had great movement, followed the puck well, and that's what good goaltending's all about."
Dubnyk upped his record to 3-1-1 this season and has allowed just four goals total over his last three starts.
Loose Pucks
• The Wild won for the first time on the road this season (1-2-1) and won for the first time when scoring the first goal of the game (1-1-1).
• Minnesota's four-goal second period tied the franchise record for most goals in a period in a road game.
• The Wild improved to 8-2-0 all-time in Boston.
• Subban was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots in 30:36 of action.
• McIntyre, a native of Thief River Falls, made his NHL debut when he relieved Subban in the second period.
He Said It
"It's great balance, which you need ... if you can have balanced scoring in this league, then every line becomes a dangerous line. And that's what we're striving for." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on Minnesota having 16 different goal scorers so far this season, most in the NHL

They Said It
"It could be a combination of both. There are some goals -- I'm not going to lie -- there are some goals that we thought our goaltenders should have had. But, I'm not here to talk about a goaltender who's in one of his first few games because he let in a couple of bad goals. We were terrible in front of him and we weren't any better and that's the big picture. That's more important." -- Bruins coach Claude Julien when asked whether Tuesday's game was a result of goaltending or defensive play
Dan's Three Stars
* Charlie Coyle
\\ Devan Dubnyk
\\* Joel Eriksson Ek