Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek of Karlstad, Sweden registered a four goal game in an 8-7 Wild overtime win over the San Jose Sharks at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday. Eriksson Ek is the second player this season to score four goals in a game. It was also his third career NHL hat trick.
Inside look at the four goal game
Eriksson Ek’s first goal came at 7:47 of the second period to put the Wild up 3-2. Matt Boldy of Milford, Massachusetts and Marcus Foligno of Sudbury, Ontario picked up the assists. Eriksson Ek’s second goal came with 12 seconds left in the second period on the power-play to put the Wild up 5-4. Marco Rossi of Feldkirch, Austria and Boldy had the assists. Eriksson Ek’s third goal came at 1:02 of the third period on the power play to put the Wild up 6-4. Kirill Kaprizov of Novokuznetsk, Russia and Mats Zuccarello of Oslo, Norway had the assists. Eriksson Ek’s fourth goal came at 2:06 of the third period to put the Wild up 7-4. Boldy and Foligno had the assists.
Who was the previous player to score four goals in a game in 2024-25?
Philadelphia Flyers centre Scott Laughton of Oakville, Ontario accomplished the feat on December 12, 2024. It came in a 4-1 Flyers win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Eriksson Ek’s third career NHL hat trick
Eriksson Ek’s first hat trick came on October 19, 2021 in a 6-5 Wild win over the Winnipeg Jets. Eriksson Ek’s second hat trick came on February 19, 2024 in a 10-7 Wild win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Eriksson Ek in 2024-25
In 2024-25, Eriksson Ek has 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points in 43 goals. He is a +7 with 20 penalty minutes, 10 power-play points, one game-winning goal, 374 faceoff wins, 31 blocked shots, 73 hits, 13 takeaways, and 30 giveaways. Eriksson Ek’s game-winning goal this season came on January 26 in a 4-2 Wild win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored from Kaprizov and Boldy at 10:45 of the second period on the power-play to put the Wild up 3-0 at the time.
Closer to a playoff spot
The Wild improve to a record of 43 wins, 29 regulation losses and seven losses in extra time for 93 points. They are five points up on the Calgary Flames for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
