Old reliables like Filip Gustavsson and Ryan Hartman spark Wild in opener

ST. LOUIS − The Wild are showing their age and not the youth movement that’s sweeping the team.

Their veterans led the way in the season opener, a 5-0 dismissal of St. Louis at Enterprise Center on Thursday night that revealed how the Wild can ease the transition of their up-and-comers: By surrounding them with experienced pros who can set an example and still handle the heavy lifting.

“From top to bottom, everyone on our team plays the right way,” said fifth-year winger Matt Boldy. “We don’t have anyone that’s on their own page that wants to do their own thing.

“For the young guys to see that, I mean, you got [Marcus Foligno] blocking shots at the end of the period with seconds left. [Captain Jared Spurgeon] had a bunch of blocked shots. You see guys like that doing the right thing over and over, it just sets the tone, and as a young guy, if you can play that way, that’s how you stay in the lineup.

“Points come and chances come, but that’s the biggest thing.”

From their net out, Wild mainstays reinforced this message on the ice with how they went from a few white-knuckle shifts during the first period to polishing off a blowout in the third.

Filip Gustavsson was the pulse through it all, the goaltender kicking off his reign as the No. 1 veteran with a 26-save shutout. His saves were sharp, especially the ones that led to whistles because there was no rebound, but the circumstances were more impressive.

Take the turnover by defenseman David Jiricek during the first that landed directly on the stick of Blues scorer Robert Thomas in an unobstructed path to Gustavsson, 27, and the net. But Thomas didn’t even put a shot on net.

“I thought he was going to go low glove, so I tried to wait,” Gustavsson said. “I guess he wanted me to drop to go around me. That chance just pops out, and maybe for a shooter it’s so quick he hasn’t thought out what he’s going to do.”

But Gustavsson’s best material came in the second period, when St. Louis went on a 14-0 run in shots, with four of those coming on the power play.

Gustavsson, on the heels of signing a five-year, $34 million contract extension, stopped all of them and didn’t look rattled in the process.

“We gave them some controlled chances there,” he said, “and I swallowed them in my stomach, and we got a breather. We got going there after 15 minutes and scored two quick goals to get a little gap from them.”

Ryan Hartman’s first of two goals came after the Wild were under siege in the first period, giving them a 1-0 reprieve. His second was the finishing touch to the Wild’s turnaround in the second, his shot sailing past St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington to put the Wild up by four.

“His puck decisions and puck play was on point,” coach John Hynes said about Hartman. “The competitive nature he plays with was very good, but I thought he played hard, and I thought he played smart with and without the puck, and that’s what we need from him.”

The first line of Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi and Boldy also didn’t disappoint, combining for eight points after Boldy scored in the first and Rossi during the third.

“Our goals were quick pucks to the net and scoring that way, which is I think our best way to play,” said Boldy, 24. “Sometimes when we get a little cute, it doesn’t end up in the net.”

But Hartman’s performance was particularly encouraging for the Wild because Nico Sturm’s back injury is going to sideline him for six to eight weeks, subtracting a center strong on faceoffs from the mix while Mats Zuccarello is also out; the veteran winger was in St. Louis with the team to get evaluated by the doctor after having surgery on a lower-body injury.

Aside from Hartman’s two goals, the 31-year-old won a game-high 10 out of 14 draws.

“All aspect of his game, that’s more of what we need on a consistent basis,” Hynes said.

Still, the Wild’s young players were noticeable.

Hynes praised Hunter Haight’s first game and saw more of a direct style from Liam Ohgren.

Zeev Buium skated 20 minutes in his first career regular-season game, and Jiricek was on the ice for three goals after his giveaway.