The Minnesota Wild are making waves at the 2026 Winter Olympics, continuing to be a driving force for Team USA. It all started with Quinn Hughes' electrifying overtime goal against Czechia, which catapulted the team into the semi-finals. Now, it's Matt Boldy’s time to shine.
Boldy, a standout forward for the Wild, opened the scoring in the gold-medal clash against Canada. He took a pass in the neutral zone, maneuvered past two Canadian defenders, and deftly chipped the puck over Jordan Binnington’s shoulder. This gave Team USA a crucial 1-0 lead, holding strong through the first 30 minutes of play.
This goal marks Boldy’s second in the tournament, having previously scored in the qualifying round against Denmark. Wild fans are hardly shocked by Boldy’s clutch performance. At 24, he’s already hit a career-high 32 goals this season and has netted 134 goals over 339 games with Minnesota.
Throughout the tournament, Boldy has been a key component of Team USA’s second line, skating alongside Toronto's Auston Matthews and Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel. While this line hasn’t been a scoring juggernaut-Matthews has 3 goals, Guentzel 1, and Boldy now 2-they’ve been relentless in creating opportunities.
Both goaltenders, Binnington and Connor Hellebuyck, have been on their game, facing a combined 26 shots in the first half. Yet, it’s Boldy’s shot that stands out as the lone goal so far.
Quinn Hughes also continues to impress, picking up the secondary assist on Boldy’s goal, bringing his tournament tally to 8 points with 1 goal and 7 assists.