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Wild hold off Maple Leafs, showing they can overcome the absence of Kirill Kaprizov

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on

Published in Hockey

TORONTO – The Minnesota Wild survived without Kirill Kaprizov the first time, and they can do it again.

That’s the message they sent Wednesday, when they upended the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena to kick off Kaprizov’s second hiatus with their most convincing victory in weeks.

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, captain Jared Spurgeon capitalized on the power play, and the fourth line — led by Marat Khusnutdinov’s goal — played its best game of the season to help the Wild win their second in a row on the road, where they improved to an NHL-leading 19-5-3.

Marcus Foligno stretched out to nudge the puck into an empty net with 15 seconds to go for his third goal in three games.

As improbable as it seems considering who they’re missing, this was one of the most Wild-like performances in recent memory.

The effort was reminiscent of the Wild’s torrid start that included another 2-1 win over Toronto (in overtime) on Nov. 3 after a lengthy, five-victory road swing that ended up setting the tone for how the Wild have thrived as the away team.

But back then, the Wild still had Kaprizov in their lineup.

This was their first test since the team announced Tuesday its leading scorer will be out at least a month to have surgery on the same lower-body injury that previously sidelined him 12 games. The Wild picked up seven wins in that span, and they appeared unfazed in facing the same challenge a second time.

And if they keep the same strategy they used against the Leafs, they should hold up just fine once again.

The Wild followed the handbook for playing without a superstar: They received solid goaltending and defending, timely offense and a depth presence.

 

The fourth line opened the scoring when Khusnutdinov passed off to Devin Shore, who hauled the puck deep in Toronto territory before Jakub Lauko took over and fed Khusnutdinov for a one-timer in front 7 minute, 7 seconds into the first period.

Khusnutdinov’s goal was his second of the season, his last coming Dec. 10 in a shootout victory at Utah, while Lauko’s assist was his first since he returned to action Jan. 18 from a nagging injury and Shore’s his second of the season.

At 15:35, the Wild doubled their lead only five seconds into their first and only power play when Joel Eriksson Ek won the initial faceoff, Mats Zuccarello worked the puck back to Spurgeon, whose shot was deflected down and by Leafs goalie Joseph Woll (22 saves) by Toronto’s Auston Matthews.

Early in the second, the Wild denied the Leafs during their only power play and were mostly sturdy the rest of the period; Toronto’s best chance was a breakaway try by William Nylander that hit the post after Declan Chisholm lost the puck at the offensive blue line.

Chisholm and Yakov Trenin suited up for the Wild after both were healthy scratches Sunday in the 4-2 win at Chicago. The Wild also called up Ben Jones from the minors to give them an extra forward for their trip.

The Leafs applied their best pressure in the third, and that’s when they finally solved Gustavsson: Nylander buried a redirect at 8:16.

But Gustavsson was airtight the rest of the way for his second straight victory after going winless over his previous five starts.

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©2025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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