Kirill Kaprizov needed just 21 seconds of overtime to finish it, and that was enough to send the Minnesota Wild home with a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
Kaprizov buried a power-play one-timer in the opening minute of the extra period for his 17th goal of the season, capping a night in which Jesper Wallstedt stood tall with 27 saves and Minnesota improved to 13-3-4. Bobby Brink also scored for the Wild.
The Canadiens got a late push from Nick Suzuki, who tied the game at 18:22 of the third period to force overtime. With Montreal’s goalie pulled, Cole Caufield fired from a sharp angle and the puck bounced off Wallstedt twice, hit the post and dropped into the crease before Suzuki shoved it through traffic.
That set up overtime, but Montreal put Minnesota on the power play when Caufield was called for slashing after Quinn Hughes’ stick broke in the corner with 56 seconds left in regulation. Minnesota made the most of the chance almost immediately, with Kaprizov finishing off the winner off a feed from Boldy.
Before the game settled into its late drama, it looked like a tight goalie battle all night. Jacob Fowler stopped 22 shots for Montreal, and both netminders were sharp through the first two periods.
Brink finally broke the scoreless deadlock 2:53 into the third period, beating Fowler glove side on a breakaway after Josh Anderson bobbled the puck coming off the bench and turned it over in the Canadiens’ zone. It was the kind of mistake Minnesota was waiting for, and Brink made Montreal pay.
Montreal, though, kept hanging around. Suzuki’s goal extended the Canadiens’ streak without a regulation loss to 11 games at 8-0-3.
The first period nearly produced a Montreal lead when Alex Newhook appeared to score on the power play with seven minutes left, but the puck struck the crossbar, rolled along it, then hit the post and bounced out.
The night also carried a pregame tribute for Carey Price, who was inducted into the team’s ring of honor after being enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday in Toronto. Fans greeted him with a nearly four-minute ovation and chants of “Ca-rey!
Ca-rey!” and “Olé, Olé.”
The Wild head to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, while the Canadiens host the Boston Bruins the same night.
In Other News...
Bruins Could Be Setting Up A Bigger Move Than Fans Expected
With the trade market already starting to stir, Bill Guerin has made clear the Wild are not treating every deadline decision as a simple yes-or-no proposition. He said the focus remains on hockey and team success, even if that means holding onto Quinn Hughes longer than some around the league might expect. For a Minnesota team that has spent plenty of time weighing short-term help against long-term value, that kind of patience matters.
The Bruins, meanwhile, appear to be thinking bigger than a quick fix. Boston is exploring trade options and has two first-round picks available to help improve the roster, but there is no immediate rush to strike a deal. In a market where rival front offices are already pushing back on rumors and keeping their cards close, that kind of flexibility can change the shape of the deadline fast. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Face One Huge Trade Question In Dylan Larkin Talks
The Dylan Larkin chatter has opened a complicated lane for the Wild, with Minnesota suddenly tied into a speculative three-way framework that also runs through Philadelphia and Detroit. The basic outline is simple enough: the Red Wings would be looking to reshape the return for Larkin, while the Flyers could end up with draft capital and prospects if the pieces line up in the right order.
For the Wild, the intrigue is less about the headline and more about what it says about the market around a player like Larkin and how far Minnesota might be willing to go if it wants to stay in the conversation. Nothing has been finalized, and the whole scenario remains in the rumor stage, but the fact that the Wild are even part of the discussion underscores how much leverage and creativity would be required to make a deal like this work. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Are Working Through A Roster Decision Fans Will Watch Closely
The trade and roster chatter around the Central Division keeps circling back to Minnesota, where the Wild have a familiar name sitting at the center of the conversation. General manager Bill Guerin said the situation with pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Quinn Hughes has not changed, and with the market always watching for movement on a top-end blue liner, that keeps the Wild in a spot where every update matters.
For a team trying to stay competitive, the appeal is obvious. Hughes changes the look of a lineup when he is in it, and Minnesota would rather avoid a scenario where the story turns into a bigger decision later on. For now, though, the message from Guerin is simple enough, even if the broader picture around the roster and the trade market remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]