Wild drop Caps 5-1

Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 shots to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Sunday, Nov. 1. The win improved the Wild to 9-2-3 on the season and marked their fourth consecutive road win.

Quinn Hughes and Michael McCarron scored within 1 minute 45 seconds of each other to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead after the first period. Hughes recorded his fifth goal of the season, his third in his last four games. Maxim Shabanov and Danila Yurov added insurance goals on late power plays.

Kirill Kaprizov scored an empty-netter to close the game. It was his 15th goal of the season, the best in the NHL, and the 500th point of his career.

The Wild have relied heavily on Wallstedt this season. The goalie has played in all but two games for Minnesota. Last year, when the team struggled in November, he went 6-0-0 with three shutouts. This season, his record in November has mirrored that early-season dominance.

Washington pushed back in the second period, outshooting the Wild and keeping Wallstedt busy. The Capitals cut the deficit to 2-1 with a deflected shot that slipped past the Minnesota goalie with less than five seconds remaining before the intermission.

Wild coach John Hynes said the Capitals created good looks and got around the net with strong sticks, but Wallstedt made big saves. Wallstedt noted that the team stuck to its game plan despite the pressure from Washington.

Washington goalie Logan Thompson finished with 24 saves. The Capitals will visit St. Paul on March 7. The Wild play the Philadelphia Flyers on Election Night.