Caps Whip Wild in Wilson's Return, 5-2

The first full day of Washington's four-game road journey started with good news, the earlier-than-expected return of Tom Wilson from a league suspension, shortened from 20 to 14 games by an independent arbitrator. Tuesday also ended on a strong note for the Caps, who celebrated Wilson's return with a convincing 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Coming off a pair of home ice losses over the weekend, the Caps got right with Wilson back in the lineup. Washington never trailed, and found the five-on-five scoring range it had been missing, scoring all five goals at even strength against a hot Wild team that came into Tuesday's game with five wins in its last six games.

"We knew it was a very difficult opponent tonight that hadn't lost at home yet," says Caps coach Todd Reirden. "It was a good challenge for our team and a really good response from our last game, so I was happy with our group tonight."
Washington had an early power play opportunity, but was not able to get on the board. The Caps did break the seal on the scoresheet a couple minutes later, though.
Lars Eller took a feed from Andre Burakovsky in neutral ice and raced into the Minnesota zone. He curled around the back of the net on the right side and circled all the way back to the front, then up to the high slot before dishing to Dmitry Orlov in the left circle. Orlov's wrist shot from the left dot beat Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk at 6:33 to give Washington a 1-0 lead.
Wilson got on the board in his first game back, making it a 2-0 game in the final half minute of the first. Orlov carried into the Minnesota zone down the left wing wall, as Wilson drove the net near the back post. Orlov slid a pass across, Wilson beat Wild blueliner Ryan Suter to it and scored, then went careening into Dubnyk. Wilson was assessed a somewhat puzzling goaltender interference call on the same play, but the goal counted and the Caps were able to kill off the carryover penalty at the start of the second.

"Well, it was a first for me, to score and get a penalty on the same play," recounts Wilson. "But I was just going hard to the net, and [Orlov] put it righty on my tape. So it was a great pass at full speed, and I was trying to do everything I could to get out of the way. I'll take the goal, and the [penalty] kill went out and got it done. It was good to see."
Washington dominated the first half of the middle frame, extending its lead to 3-0 on a sustained offensive zone shift early in the period. Michal Kempny made a backhand keep at the right point, and rolled the puck along behind the Wild net for Brett Connolly. Connolly fed Eller in front, and Dubnyk stopped him point blank, but had no chance on the follow-up as Andre Burakovsky chipped a backhander into a yawning net at 3:13.
The Caps held the Wild without a shot for the first half of the middle period, but Minnesota got on the board just after the Caps killed of a penalty, getting a Mikko Koivu goal off a Kempny turnover at 11:57 of the second.
Wilson fought Marcus Foligno off the ensuing face-off, and the Caps were able to nurse their two-goal lead to the second intermission.
Minnesota came at the Caps with some tenacity early in the third, and the Caps had to kill off a Matt Niskanen minor to maintain that two-goal cushion. A minute after doing so, they expanded their lead.
Alex Ovechkin carried the puck up the left wing wall and into the Wild zone on a three-on-two rush. He waited patiently before throwing a perfect feed across to Orlov on the weak side, and the Caps defenseman issued a one-time bomb to the back of the net, his second goal of the game, making it a 4-1 game at 7:23.
With Minnesota pressing, the Caps used a Madison Bowey blocked shot to fuel the breakout and pad their lead. After Bowey's block, Nicklas Backstrom took the puck and sent Jakub Vrana into Minnesota ice with it. The trailing Backstrom took a return feed from Vrana, then teed up a T.J. Oshie one-timer from the bottom of the left circle, extending the Washington lead to 5-1 at 9:48.

The Caps were guilty of three more minor penalties the rest of the way, and Minnesota's Matt Dumba scored with three seconds remaining on a five-on-three power play to account for the 5-2 final.
With Tuesday's victory, the Caps halted a short two-game slide, and they also handed the Wild its first regulation loss in eight home games this season.
"We just weren't sharp," says Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "The passes weren't tape-to-tape; they were bouncing. Some guys were not as good as I'd expect them to be. It's a weird thing, because I thought we played as good as them, but they are the best team in the league at scoring off the rush, and they proved it again tonight."
Four of Washington's five goals came off the rush, including Wilson's first of the season. Tuesday's win started a weeklong road trip the same way the day started, on a high note.
"It was a good day," says Wilson, "and good to get back in there. It's tough watching the guys play, so once you get back in there, get in the room and get into the game day routine, there is no better feeling. It was a good game by the fellas, and it felt good to put together a good 60 minutes and hopefully get this thing going a little."