For a person with “BOLD” right there in his name, Matt Boldy is not one you would call boisterous or demonstrative. Except when celebrating a goal – which he has done 28 times this season.
His comments to the media are generally understated. His proclamations, win or lose, are generally anything but bold. He describes the game in straightforward terms with little hyperbole.
But after missing four games due to injury, it became clear right from the start of Saturday night’s Hockey Day Minnesota finale versus Florida that Boldy wasn’t just back on the ice, he was back in the game. Boldly.
“It felt good to be back with the guys and out there and competing with them,” Boldy said of his return. “So it was fun.”
The real fun – specifically the real loud fun – came in the third period with the Wild and Panthers tied 2-2 and Florida on one of its six power plays in the game.
Boldy had picked off a pass while shorthanded early in the game and had made a rush to the Panthers net that was thwarted. When he did it a second time, there was no thwarting to be had by Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Boldy said he was just trying to hold the blue line, and was able to be in the right spot. The more descriptive call of the play saw the Wild forward step in front of a Florida pass at the defensive blue line and head off on a break away from there, snapping a wrist shot past Bobrovsky to briefly give Minnesota a 3-2 lead.
Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) skates on the ice during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
The Panthers re-tied the game on the same power play, and ended up winning in overtime, but the story for the Wild was Boldy’s return, and what him being healthy and effective could mean for this team, and for Team USA when Boldy wears red, white and blue in Italy next month.
“It was nice to have him back. He’s an impactful guy that plays a lot of key situations and key minutes,” Wild coach John Hynes said, raving about Boldy’s smarts and offensive instincts, not only on the goal but on the first period shorthanded rush and Boldy’s assist on the Wild’s first goal of the game.
For the defenders who have to face him in practice, those instincts and Boldy’s shot are things they know all too well.
“He’s such a skilled player for us. He drives this team on the offense,” Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson said. “He scored on the breakaway on the PK, sacrificing his body there, blocking shots, then going down and scoring. So I love having him back.”
Not only was he out, but his entire line, with Marcus Johansson and Joel Eriksson Ek, missed the Wild’s three-game trip to Buffalo, Toronto and Montreal. As good as the TV coverage of Wild games has gotten, Boldy didn’t care for being a spectator.
“It stinks to miss games,” Boldy said. “You feel like you can’t make a difference out there and it sucks to watch. I think everyone would say that. I’m just happy it wasn’t too long and I was able to come back.”
Boldy’s four-game absence came not as the result of a big hit or a blocked shot but rather a nagging ailment that got worse over time. After getting an assist in a home loss to Winnipeg on Jan. 15, he and the trainers determined it was time to give his body some time off to heal.
“It got to the point where it felt a little more nagging than I would’ve liked,” Boldy said. “To be able to take care of it and get it to feeling good again was important.”
And the importance of having Boldy back, healthy and contributing, can hardly be understated. Even if the man himself would rarely be bold enough to say so.
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