3 Stars: Reloaded Wild offense too much for Bruins

There's just something about the Bruins and trips to Minnesota ice, I swear.

I'm still not sure that the Bruins have ever played an entertaining game in Minnesota in our collective lifetime of watching Bruins-Wild hockey. Now, the games here in Boston have been electric. But the contests in Minnesota? Those have frequently left a lot to be desired from a B's point of view.

Hell, the last time the Bruins were in Minny, they didn't even score a goal.

Perhaps this was my brain's way of telling myself (and you) that my expectations for Sunday's contest in Minnesota, even with the Bruins entering play with wins in four straight, were pretty low. And that was before the Wild went out and decided to add defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Canucks via trade on Friday night.

And sure enough, that's how it played out Sunday night in Minnesota, with the Bruins walloped by a 6-2 final in St. Paul. It got as ugly as 5-0 at one point, too.

With the victory, the Wild improved to 20-10-5 all-time against the Bruins. That record is actually the best record against Boston by any of the 35 all-time NHL franchises with at least 10 games played, according to the Wild.

Here's a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game...

The Bruins didn't get on the board until it was 'garbage time' in this one, but it was another goal on the board for the Bruins' Alex Steeves.

The goal may have not meant much in terms of the result of this one, of course, but it did allow Steeves to get back on the board after three straight games without a point to his name. Now, I think Steeves has done enough to remain in the lineup beyond just the points, especially when you look at his recent uptick in penalty-kill usage. But his scoring is what has elevated him to full-time status with the club, and is something that has to be there for him to stay in the lineup.

And even beyond the goal, Steeves was one of the more productive Bruins in the losing effort, as Boston had tons of looks on Filip Gustavsson during his five-on-five deployment. Not many players you could say that about in this one.

It was a season-high three points for the Wild's Ryan Hartman in this one. And it was his second period power-play tally that ultimately held as the game-winning goal in this contest. The Wild got plenty of support beyond Hartman's power-play tally, so it's not exactly the most impressive 'GWG' you'll see this season, I admit.

But it did serve as a 'back breaker' for the Bruins in sense that a two-goal deficit through 40 minutes looks a lot more manageable than a three-goal hole.

We all know how awful the 2015 NHL Draft was for the Bruins. But what if I told you it was even worse? You see, the Bruins made a seemingly meaningless trade involving a fifth-round pick that year, sending the their fifth-round pick to the Wild for a fifth-round pick in 2016. That pick? Yup, you guessed it: Kirill Kaprizov.

And, boy, does it feel like he has a way of making the Bruins feel it every time he plays them, doesn't it? In what was just his sixth career outing head-to-head against the Bruins, Kaprizov put up two goals and added an assist in Minnesota's blowout win, giving him eight goals and nine points against Boston in his career.

Kaprizov also made some history for the Wild in the process, as he moved into a tie with Mikko Koivu for the second-most goals (205) in Wild franchise history. Kaprizov, of course, did it in 676 fewer games because the man is a machine. He's now just 15 away from tying Marian Gaborik for the most in franchise history.