ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Thursday night, the Minnesota Wild achieved a decisive 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, highlighted by Kirill Kaprizov’s empty-net goal and an assist. Goalie Filip Gustavsson recorded his first shutout of the season, making 19 saves throughout the match.

Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi also contributed to the Wild’s scoreboard, with Boldy netting the first goal of the game in the second period after receiving a pass from Marcus Johansson near the crease. Rossi expanded the lead with a power-play goal in the third period. The Canadiens attempted to turn the tide by pulling their goalie in the final 90 seconds, but Kaprizov sealed the victory with a goal into the empty net just 20 seconds before the final buzzer. The Wild have now recorded an impressive 6-1-1 record since the end of October.

For the Canadiens, goalie Sam Montembeault made 25 saves, but the team’s struggles continued as they fell to just 1-6-1 over their last eight games.

Several observations emerged from the match. The Canadiens have been struggling offensively, entering the game ranked 30th in the league for shots on goal. They managed to hit the target only 19 times during the game, marking their first shutout of the season. On the other side, the Wild’s progress was hampered somewhat by injuries, as forwards Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek left the game in the first period and did not return. In their absence, both Kaprizov and Boldy took on extra ice time for the remaining periods.

A significant moment occurred with just over 11 minutes left in the game when Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble received a double minor penalty for striking Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon in the face. During this four-minute power play, Rossi took advantage of the situation to fire a wrist shot that found the back of the net, effectively doubling Minnesota’s lead to 2-0.

In terms of individual achievements, Kaprizov’s performance brought his season totals to 20 assists and 30 points, placing him behind only Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon in both categories.

Looking ahead, the Canadiens will return to their home ice to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, while the Wild are set to host the Dallas Stars on the same day.