Scoggins: The Wild’s young players are growing up, and we get to watch

The blueprint made sense on paper, as a concept, but Wild fans have been waiting to see it unfold in the flesh.

Turn the roster over, pivot to a core of young players with high-end potential and trust this new plan will lead to success when it matters most, in the postseason.

Stops and starts and growing pains required patience, but the long-term vision continued to materialize Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.

An emphatic 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the first round encapsulated the hopes and beliefs of the Wild organization.

The faces of the present, and the future, delivered in a big way.

Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals. Matt Boldy continued to play with force. Marco Rossi, banished to the fourth line, reminded that he shouldn’t be forgotten by scoring his first career playoff goal. Brock Faber was steady and reliable as usual in smothering Vegas’ top line.

All of them under age 28.

The young’uns are growing up before our eyes.

The Wild now hold a 2-1 series lead. The way they are taking the fight to Vegas with a mature, composed attack should spread confidence throughout the lineup.

Kaprizov’s status as a superstar already was cemented before the series. The first three games put to rest any concerns about whether he might be rusty after missing half the season with an injury.

He’s more than fine.

His first goal on the power play three minutes into the game was vintage Kaprizov. Circling the goal with the puck, he stopped just inside the blue line and gave a quick flick of his wrist. The puck hit the back of the net. A goal scorer’s goal.

His second goal was a race to beat the clock before it expired at the end of the second period. Ryan Hartman glanced up the clock, saw only a few seconds remaining and fired a puck on net from along the wall. The puck hit a body in front of the net and Kaprizov tapped it in just before the buzzer sounded, extending the lead to 4-1.

Boldy’s goal a few minutes earlier in the period was all about hustle and grit.

Boldy and defenseman Noah Hanifin had a foot race to a loose puck in the Vegas end. Boldy stripped Hanifin of the puck behind the goal and jammed it in for a 3-1 lead.

“He took it to the net and buried it,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s going to the net and going to the dirty areas. Good for him. That’s what you’ve got to do to score this time of the year.”

This is a much different version of Boldy than in his previous playoff appearances. Wild General Manager Bill Guerin had a pointed conversation with the young winger during his exit interview after a first-round loss to Dallas in 2023. Boldy collected only three points, no goals and was a minus-5 in six games that series.

Guerin’s assessment of Boldy after that series: “He’s got to change certain things in his game to have more … it is a different game in the playoffs. It’s just different. And I think a lot of people get frustrated with that in hockey. But I think one of the things that makes hockey great is that it is a whole different ballgame. You look at the goals that are scored, they’re hard goals. There’s not a lot of pretty goals and you just got to get your nose dirty. For him, that’s something that he’s got to work on.”

He took that message to heart. Boldy’s four goals in this series are a product of playing a hard game. Driving to the net. Being strong with the puck.

As Cassidy pointed out, it also helps to have an elite passer and playmaker alongside. Star players elevate those around them, and Kaprizov is having that impact on his linemate.

“He’s such a special, dynamic player who works so hard and is a great teammate,” Faber said. “He’s a guy we’re so grateful to have, especially in a series like this.”

This series has revealed the organization’s investment into a plan. Kaprizov, Boldy and the young core have met the moment and then some.