Preview: Wild vs. Capitals

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild plays an early game tonight, hitting the ice at 6:30 p.m. against the Washington Capitals. The Wild once again find itself on a two-game losing streak, the team's third two-game losing streak of the month.

The Wild faced the Stars and the Golden Knights in an away-and-home back-to-back, losing both matches. On Monday, the Wild were shut out in Dallas and on Tuesday, fell 5-1 to Vegas at the Xcel Energy Center. Tonight, the Wild seeks to change the tides and secure the win.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Thursday, March 27th at 6:30 p.m. CT
• Where: Xcel Energy Center (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Now
• Watch: ESPN+/Hulu
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Capitals

Wild Record: 40-27-5, 85 points, 4th in Central Division

Capitals Record: 47-15-9, 103 points, 1st in Metropolitan Division

2024-25 Series Record: 1-0-0

All-Time Wild Record: 16-13-3 (10-5-1 at Xcel Energy Center)

This Season on Wild vs. Capitals

The Wild won the series-opening game, 4-3, in a shootout at Capital One Arena.

C Ryan Hartman led Minnesota with two points (1-1=2). C Yakov Trenin (1-0=1) and C Marco Rossi (1-0=1) also scored for the Wild before LW Matt Boldy scored the deciding shootout goal. G Marc-André Fleury saved 28- of-31 shots faced to earn the win for the Wild.

D Martin Fehervary (1-0=1), LW Alex Ovechkin (1-0=1) and RW Tom Wilson (1-0=1) each scored for the Capitals. G Charlie Lindgren stopped 30-of-33 shots faced for Washington.

Last Time Out

Minnesota fell 5-1 to the Golden Knights on Tuesday night in Saint Paul. LW Marcus Johansson scored the lone Wild goal, assisted by RW Mats Zuccarello.

Wild Leaders Against Caps

• C Gustav Nyquist leads the Wild with 18 points (7- 11=18) in 30 career games against the Capitals
• D Zach Bogosian (3-9=12 in 36 games), LW Marcus Foligno (4-8=12 in 26 games) and RW Mats Zuccarello (3-9=12 in 31 games) own 12 points each
• LW Marcus Johansson has 11 points (4-7=11) in 13 contests

Capitals Leaders Against Wild

• Ovechkin leads Washington with 38 points (20-18=38) in 24 career games against Minnesota
• RW T.J. Oshie has 24 points (12-12=24) in 35 contests
• D Jakob Chychrun owns 14 points (10-4=14) in 26 games
• C Dylan Strome has 13 points (4-9=13) in 14 games

To view recent transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

On the Mend

Declan Chisholm: lower-body injury (one game missed)

Joel Eriksson Ek: lower-body injury (15 games missed)

Marcus Foligno: upper-body injury (five games missed)

Kirill Kaprizov: lower-body injury (22 games missed)

Connections

• Johansson was selected by Washington in the first round (24th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft and collected 324 points (118-206=324) in 579 games in parts of nine seasons with the Capitals (2010-17, 2021-23)
• C Nic Dowd played four seasons at St. Cloud State University (2010-14)
• LW Brandon Duhaime was selected by Minnesota in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft and recorded 40 points (20-20=40) in 211 games with the Wild (2021-24)
• Oshie played high school hockey in Warroad
• Lindgren is from Lakeville and played three seasons at St. Cloud State University (2013-16)

Fast Facts

• Minnesota is 6-0-1 in the last seven meetings and 7-1-1 in the last nine meetings
• Minnesota’s series sweep in 2022-23 marked the third time in franchise history the Wild has won two games against Washington in the same season (2002-03, 2021-22)
• Nine of Minnesota’s 16 games played at Washington have been decided by one goal (4-3-2)
• Ovechkin netted three PPG on March 28, 2017, the most ever by a Wild opponent

For more information on today's matchup, check out the game notes below.