Game Preview: Wild at Capitals

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Wild opens a two-game road trip today against the Washington Capitals at 2:30 p.m. CT on Wild+ and KOOL FM 107.9. Minnesota comes into today’s contest with a point in four consecutive games (3-0-1), with wins over Vancouver, Seattle and Utah, and an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Friday night.

Playing on the road is nothing new for the Wild this season, as today marks its 11th road game already, the most in the NHL. Minnesota owns a 5-3-2 record in road games thus far and has won three consecutive games played away from St. Paul. The Wild is outscoring its opponents 29-23 in road games and has a plus-46 shot differential (306-260). Per Stats Perform, Minnesota has also won its previous three road games by at least two goals for the first time since Nov. 2025.

Kirill Kaprizov, who was just named the NHL’s Second Star of the Month for October after posting 24 points (14-10=24), enters tonight with 500 career points (244-255=500) in just 412 career games. Per Stats Perform, only five active players reached the 500-point mark in fewer than 450 games: Sidney Crosby (369), Connor McDavid (369), Alex Ovechkin (373), Evgeni Malkin (413) and Auston Matthews (445).

Jesper Wallstedt gets the nod for Minnesota today. He is 8-2-3 on the season with a 2.57 GAA and a .912 SV% in 13 starts, leading the league with 307 saves and ranks second in wins and fifth in GAA and SV%. This marks the first time Wallstedt will face the Capitals in his career.

Players to Watch:

Quinn Hughes: He has multiple points (2-4=6) in three consecutive games, tying his career-high. Per Stats Perform, Hughes is the only defenseman in Wild history to record multiple points in three consecutive games. In his career against Washington, Hughes owns 16 points (3-13=16) in 12 career games.

Yakov Trenin: He only has two points (0-2=2) on the season but has had success against the Capitals in his career, posting five points (4-1=5) in 10 career games. Trenin also ranks second in the NHL with 68 hits this season.

Info for Today's Game:

• When: Sunday, November 1 at 2:30 p.m. CT
• Where:  Capital One Arena (Washington, DC
• Watch: How to Watch
• Listen: KFAN
• Gamecenter: Wild at Capitals

Records:

• Minnesota Wild Record: 9-3-3, 21 points.
• Washington Capitals Record: 8-4-0, 16 points.
• All-Time Wild Record: 18-14-3 (12-5-1 at Grand Casino Arena, 6-9-2 at Washington).

Wild Leaders Against Capitals

•  LW Nick Foligno leads Minnesota with 24 points (9-15=24) in 51 career games against Washington
• D Quinn Hughes has 16 points (3-13=16) in 12 games
• D Olli Määttä owns 13 points (1-12=13) in 32 games
• LW Marcus Foligno (4-8=12, in 29 games) and D Zach Bogosian (3-9=12, in 38 games) have 12 points each.

Capitals Leaders Against Wild

• Ovechkin leads Washington with 40 points (21-19=40) in 27 career games against Minnesota
• RW Jordan Kyrou has 27 points (15-12=27) in 26 games
• Strome owns 17 points (6-11=17) in 17 games
• D Jakob Chychrun has 14 points (10-4=14) in 29 games
• Wilson owns 13 points (7-6=13) in 23 games.

Connections

• Lindgren is from Lakeville and played three seasons at St.Cloud State University (2013-16).

Fast Facts

• Minnesota earned a point in eight consecutive games (7-0-1,1/8/22 - 3/27/25) vs. Washington prior to the Capital’s win on 10/17/25
• Minnesota’s series sweep in 2024-25 marked the fourth time in franchise history the Wild has won two games against Washington in the same season (also 2002-03, 2021-22, 2022-23)
• Minnesota has won five consecutive contests played at Grand Casino Arena since 1/8/22
• Ovechkin netted three PPG on March 28, 2017, the most ever by a Wild opponent in a single game.

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