P.K. Subban knows what a top-tier forward looks like. The former Norris Trophy winner spent his career going against some of the biggest names in the sport in the postseason. Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Patrick Kane, Nathan MacKinnon, Joe Thornton, you name them. He’s well-qualified to tell you, the national hockey-watching audience, who is and isn’t a DOG.
During the second intermission of the Minnesota Wild’s Game 5 statement victory over the Dallas Stars, Subban took ample time to inform the continent that Matt Boldy is, in fact, a DOG.
Who can dare to argue the point? This isn’t the Boldy of three springs ago, when Bill Guerin and the media called him to account for playing (and looking) too pretty after a rough-and-tumble playoff series. This isn’t even the Boldy of last postseason, when he burned brightly with four goals and six points in Games 1 through 3, only to score one goal and no assists in three straight losses as the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Wild.
This is a version of Boldy that is using all parts of his game. He’s lethal from the perimeter, but he’s also getting to the net. This is a Boldy trying to score the dirty goals, mixing it up around the net, and doing anything to beat Jake Oettinger. Even on the two goals that have been called back were the result of his all-out effort, grinding in the crease to make something, anything, happen.
That’s what you do when you’re a DOG. Eat ’em up, Matt Boldy, woofwoofnumnumnum.
Maybe he isn’t sporting the black eye that Brock Faber‘s rocking during the series, but Boldy’s more than earned the small bruising on his face. In addition to the usual cross-checking, slashing exchanges, and the usual extracurriculars from a playoff series, the Wild got a scare in Game 3 when Jamie Benn bowled over Boldy with a seemingly reckless (but uncalled) hit. The concussion spotter took Boldy out of the game for the rest of the first period, but Boldy was fine.
“Fine” might not be the right word. He was on the ice, and he was angry. The rest of the game saw him ooze that Michael Jordan “And I took that personally” energy. He played the rest of Game 3 looking not just to beat Dallas, but to humiliate them. He had to wait until Game 4 for the former, but accomplished the latter on an otherworldly assist for Joel Eriksson Ek.
The Stars have simply had no answer for Boldy this series, except for hoping the Wild power play falls into a 1-for-17 slump. Boldy racked up 7 shots last night, giving him a total of 28, which is tied with Jason Robertson for the most in the playoffs. The onslaught is also consistent. The Stars have yet to hold Boldy to fewer than 4 shots in a game.
Moreover, Boldy has been the answer to Mikko Rantanen, one of Dallas’ top players. In 35 head-to-head minutes against Rantanen at 5-on-5, Boldy has a 2-0 edge in goals and is controlling 61.3% of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. Rantanen has been held to one “even-strength” point (coming on a 4-on-4 where Dallas pulled Oettinger), and Boldy has been a big part of the mix to neutralize Dallas’ highest-paid player.
The Wild have no shortage of heroes en route to taking a 3-2 series lead, and their wins have all been team efforts. But Boldy’s talent and on-ice attitude have been as big a reason as any for them being on the brink of advancing to the second round. Boldy showed the world he was a world-class talent in the regular season with his first 40/40 season and an Olympic gold medal. Now he’s showing that he’s even more than that. He’s also a DOG. Numnumnumnumnum.
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