Kirill Kaprizov's overtime goal sends Wild past Canadiens

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Feb 2, 2026

Published in Hockey

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Minnesota Wild two weeks ago on a last-minute goal.

They almost won again with the same strategy.

Montreal scored near the end of the first and second periods before a first-minute finish in the third forced the Wild to rally 4-3 in overtime Monday at Grand Casino Arena for their fourth consecutive victory.

Kirill Kaprizov delivered on a 4-on-3 power play 3 minutes, 38 seconds into overtime after a pinching Brock Faber made it 3-3 in the third period.

Earlier in the third, Kirby Dach put the Canadiens ahead with a curveball, connecting only 12 seconds into the period after the Wild blew a 2-0 lead on two late lulls: Brendan Gallagher capitalized with 52 seconds left in the first and Ivan Demidov with 17 seconds remaining in the second.

Joel Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov had the early Wild’s goals, with Kaprizov’s team-leading 32nd and 14th career OT game-winner lifting him to 217 goals in his NHL career and only two back of tying Marian Gaborik’s franchise record of 219.

Quinn Hughes’ assist on Kaprizov’s goal extended his assist streak to nine games, which matched Kaprizov for the longest streak in team history. Hughes finished with three assists.

Filip Gustavsson made 17 saves for the Wild, and Jakub Dobes had 20 for Montreal, which stunned the Wild 4-3 on Jan. 20 when Cole Caufield scored with 15 seconds to go in the third period.

The Wild had Zach Bogosian back in action after the defenseman missed the past 13 games hurt, but they were without Marcus Foligno and Jesper Wallstedt since both were sick. Cal Petersen, called up from the minors, backed up Gustavsson.

Daemon Hunt left in the first period after the Wild defenseman was hit with a puck up high.

The loss was the Wild’s 12th in a row vs. the Canadiens in St. Paul, a run that started during the 2013-14 season.

How it happened

Before the Canadiens’ moved ahead on an early goal, the Wild did it first, as Eriksson Ek flung the puck by Dobes from the right faceoff circle just 38 seconds into the game for his fourth goal during a five-game point streak.

Then with 4:12 to go in the first period, Kaprizov got loose in front of the Montreal net to redirect in a Hughes pass. Hughes’ nine-game assist streak tied the NHL record for longest by a defenseman in his first season with a franchise.

But the Canadiens didn’t wait until the second period to start rallying.

With 52 seconds left, Gallagher cut to the middle and backhanded the puck by Gustavsson.

The last minute of the second, after an even period between the two teams, was difficult for the Wild, too: Demidov buried a one-timer with 17 seconds to go.

Turning point

Montreal flipped the script in the third, scoring in the first minute instead of waiting for the end of the period.

Dach flipped the puck by a Gustavsson poke check only 12 seconds into the third to give the Canadiens their first lead.

But the Wild responded when Marcus Johansson forwarded a Hughes feed deeper into Montreal territory and Faber skated into a wrister at 7:05 for his second goal in as many games; his 13 overall are the sixth-most in a single season by a Wild defenseman.

Key stat

The Wild went 1 for 3 on the power play, and their penalty kill was 1 for 1.

Up next

The Wild’s final game before the Olympic break is Wednesday at Nashville. Both games vs. the Predators this season have been decided in overtime, with each team winning once.

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