ST. LOUIS – As opening nights go, this one was worthy of a standing ovation.

The high hopes of Minnesota Wild fans, and the high-priced investments they made in long-term contracts, were realized, emphatically in game one, as Ryan Hartman scored a pair of goals in a convincing 5-0 win over the Blues in St. Louis.

Goalie Filip Gustavsson, signed to a five-year contract extension earlier this week, was flawless, giving the home crowd at Enterprise Center no reason to get excited, with 27 saves. It was the second time in the past three years that he opened the season with a shutout.

Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi added goals for the Wild, who were dominated for long stretches in the second period, but gave the Blues’ offense nothing to record on the scoreboard.

Hartman seemi

See Full Page