Wild Defeat Capitals 4-2 Behind Boldy’s Big Night

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy played a pivotal role in the Minnesota Wild’s 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, scoring the go-ahead goal and adding an assist in the second period.

Frederick Gaudreau netted two goals, Jon Merrill also found the back of the net, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 28 saves for the Wild. Minnesota remains unbeaten this season (28-0) when leading after two periods, the only NHL team to hold that distinction.

Matt Roy and Brandon Duhaime scored for the Capitals, who, despite leading the league, dropped their second straight game following a dominant 9-1 stretch.

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had a prime scoring opportunity in the third period with a breakaway, but Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin shut him down. Ovechkin remains at 889 career goals, needing just six more to surpass Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, with 10 regular-season games left to reach the milestone.

The win gave Minnesota a crucial boost in its playoff race, with the team holding a five-point cushion above the cutoff for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Meanwhile, Washington, the first team to clinch a postseason berth, remains on track to lock up the top seed in the East, entering the night with a comfortable 13-point lead.

Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren, playing in his home state, made 17 saves for Washington. The Capitals, who rank among the NHL’s lowest-scoring teams, have been struggling offensively with star forward Kirill Kaprizov sidelined for two months and top center Joel Eriksson Ek out for over a month. Both players resumed skating earlier in the day but are still at least a week away from returning.

Boldy, who earlier set up Gaudreau’s power-play goal, put the Wild ahead just before the second intermission. With nine seconds left in the period, he executed a one-handed drag of a loose puck from behind the goal line and into the crease before tapping in his 24th goal of the season.

After the game, Ovechkin led a handshake line for Wild goaltender Marc-André Fleury, who is nearing retirement after an NHL career that began in the 2003-04 season.

Minnesota has dominated recent matchups against Washington, going 7-0-1 in their last eight meetings, including a shootout victory on Jan. 2.

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Washington returns home to host Buffalo on Sunday, while Minnesota welcomes New Jersey on Saturday.