Boldy has goal, assist, Wild hold off Capitals

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist, and the Minnesota Wild completed the comeback with a 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

With 8.5 seconds left in the second period, Boldy put the Wild on top 3-2 after pulling the puck from behind the net and beating Charlie Lindgren at the doorstep.

“It's a huge win for us,” Boldy said. “I think we've been playing good hockey. I think we didn't get rewarded the last couple games. I think in this room, which is what matters, we’re a positive group, we know what we're capable of, and I thought we went out there and played a great game and that's what matters, finding ways to win right now is huge and we were able to do that tonight.”

Frederick Gaudreau scored twice and Jon Merrill also scored for Minnesota (41-27-5), which had lost two in a row but has won four of its past six. Filip Gustavsson made 28 saves.

“Tonight we knew coming into the game that they were going to be, they’re big, strong, heavy team,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “They get to the netfront, and they have a lot of mobile defensemen that can find shooting lanes and trigger at the net. I thought Gus made some good saves on some tips. We were really strong at our netfront. And as you said, I thought we had some big blocks at some key times when it mattered most.”

The Wild are two points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the first wild card in the Western Conference and six points behind the Colorado Avalanche for third place in the Central Division.

Matt Roy and Brandon Duhaime scored for Washington (47-16-9), which lost in regulation for just the second time in the past 12 games (9-2-1). Lindgren made 17 saves.

Alex Ovechkin remains six goals from passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for the NHL all-time record.

“The margin for error in these games is very, very thin…,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “They score on the power play, we don’t, so there’s one tilted situation. They score at the end of the period at just a little bit of a situation where we lose focus, there you go. So now you’re down a goal, and now you’ve got to rely on someone to make a big play. We just didn’t do that. We had enough chances. We got ourselves into some good situations. We just didn’t finish.”

Merrill gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 6:00 of the first period, using Justin Brazeau’s screen to send a shot through traffic from the high point.

Roy responded to tie it 1-1 at 7:08 with a wrist shot from atop the right circle.

“When things don’t go your way, you’ve got to respond,” Roy said. “(Taylor Raddysh) made a great play to me and (Andrew Mangiapane) had a great screen in front, so we had to just keep chipping away and do the things that we do. The goals will take care of themselves.”

Duhaime pulled the Capitals ahead 2-1 at 8:49, when Nic Dowd pushed back a loose puck to Duhaime near the hashmarks for the putaway.

The Wild issued a coach’s challenge citing goaltender interference, but video review determined none occurred and the call on the ice stood.

Gaudreau tipped in a Boldy shot 22 seconds into a power play at 12:25 of the second period to tie it 2-2.

Gaudreau scored into the empty net at 18:39 of the third period for the 4-2 final.

“We’re very detailed with the puck,” Gustavsson said. “We don't take any unnecessary risks. We put it down there, and then we hold a tight neutral zone. And when it's time to block, guys are all over just blocking shots for us, and that's what's been working for us.”

NOTES: Marcus Foligno returned for Minnesota after missing five games. The forward had one shot on goal in 18:10 of ice time. … With his ninth game-winning goal of the season, Boldy established a franchise record for most in a season. ... The Wild extended their point streak against the Capitals to eight games dating to Jan. 8, 2022 (7-0-1).