The Minnesota Wild beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Sunday at Capital One Arena, scoring three goals in the final 2:23 of regulation to blow open a one-goal game. Joel Eriksson Ek finished with two assists and Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 of 27 shots as Minnesota improved to 10-3-3.
The Wild led 2-0 after the first period on goals from Quinn Hughes and Michael McCarron, then watched Washington cut the margin to one late in the second when Justin Sourdif tipped in a Cole Hutson feed with 6 seconds left in the frame. Minnesota answered in the third, getting goals from Maxim Shabanov, Kirill Kaprizov and Danila Yurov in a span of less than two minutes to turn a tight contest into a lopsided final. Logan Thompson took the loss in net for Washington, allowing four goals on 28 shots.
Key Moments: How The Wild Pulled Away
Hughes opened the scoring 3:42 into the game with a snap shot, assisted by Jonas Brodin and Nico Sturm. McCarron made it 2-0 less than two minutes later, converting a Blake Coleman and Bobby Brink feed at 5:27 of the first.
Washington trimmed the deficit to 2-1 when Sourdif scored with 6 seconds left in the second period, assisted by Hutson and Anthony Beauvillier. That goal stood as the Capitals’ only tally of the night.
The Wild put the game away in the third period. Shabanov scored at 17:37 off a feed from Eriksson Ek, Kaprizov followed just 25 seconds later with his 15th goal of the season, and Yurov capped the scoring at 19:35 with a slap shot assisted by David Spacek and Brink. The three third-period goals came within a 2:23 window and turned a one-goal game into a four-goal decision.
Top Performers
Eriksson Ek did not score but recorded two assists and led all skaters in points. Kaprizov finished with a goal on three shots. McCarron, Hughes, Shabanov and Yurov each scored a goal, while Bobby Brink picked up two assists.
Wallstedt stopped 26 of 27 shots for a .963 save percentage. Minnesota went 2-for-5 on the power play; Washington was 0-for-1. The Capitals took six penalties for 20 minutes compared to one minor for Minnesota.s 0-for-1 night with the man advantage. The Capitals were credited with six penalties for 20 penalty minutes, compared to a single minor for Minnesota.
Jordan Kyrou and Timothy Liljegren each drew minors for Washington, part of the discipline issues that limited the Capitals’ ability to generate sustained offense despite out-hitting Minnesota 24-22 and winning 56.9% of faceoffs.
What It Means
Minnesota improved to 10-3-3 and leads the Central Division with 23 points. Washington fell to 8-5-0 and sits third in the Metropolitan Division. Kaprizov’s 15 goals this season led the Wild’s output.s 18.
The win also puts the Wild up 1-0 in the season series against Washington. The Capitals fell to 8-5-0 and remain third in the Metropolitan Division, four points behind division-leading Carolina.
Minnesota has now shown an ability to close out tight games with late scoring, a pattern that followed the team’s 5-1 win over the Kraken earlier this season and its 4-2 victory over the Canucks. Kaprizov’s continued production, now with 15 goals on the season, has been a constant through the Wild’s hot start.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
