National Hockey League
Minnesota 4, Montreal 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 21, 2023
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Chris Schlenker, Furman South
Linesmen: Mitch Hunt, Bevan Mills
Attendance: 18387

Kirill Kaprizov scored the overtime winner and added two assists as the Minnesota Wild edged the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Thursday.

Kaprizov one-timed a Marcus Johansson feed past Sam Montembeault with 4.9 seconds remaining in the extra frame for his second overtime winner in two games.

Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Brock Faber had the other goals for the Wild, who have won five of their last six games. Four of the five wins have come in overtime or a shootout.

Kaprizov, who scored the overtime winner against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, has three goals and four assists in his last six games.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 22 saves for his first career win over the Canadiens in four games.

David Savard, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky each had a goal and an assist for Montreal, and Mike Matheson added two assists. Montembeault stopped 20 shots for the Canadiens, who have now lost 10 straight in Minnesota dating back to November 2013.

Montreal tied it 3-3 at 16:55 of the third to force overtime as Savard's point shot directed off Slafkovsky and Wild defenseman Jake Middleton before getting past Gustavsson.

The Wild took a 3-2 lead on a power play at 8:57 of the third when Faber's wrist shot beat a screened Montembeault for his second of the season.

Minnesota outshot Montreal 13-3 and scored twice in a 1:35 span to lead 2-0 after one period.

Boldy opened the scoring on a power play at 13:19 of the first, one-timing a Kaprizov feed past Montembeault for his ninth of the season.

Rossi gave the Wild a 2-0 lead, beating Montembeault under the glove for his 11th of the season at 14:54 of the opening frame.

Montreal cut the lead in half at 8:17 of the second period when Savard's wrist shot from the faceoff dot beat Gustavsson far-side for his second of the season.

Suzuki tied it 2-2 just over one minute into the third, taking a Slafkovsky feed and beating Gustavsson with the backhand shot. The Habs captain now has six points (one goal, five assists) in his last four games.

Canadiens left-winger Emil Heineman made his NHL debut on Thursday in Minnesota.

The Wild placed right-winger Mats Zuccarello (upper body) on injured reserve on Wednesday and recalled forward Jake Lucchini under emergency conditions from the AHL's Iowa Wild on Thursday.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   Minnesota
David Savard 2 Points Kirill Kaprizov 3
David Savard 1 Goals Kirill Kaprizov 1
Mike Matheson 2 Assists Kirill Kaprizov 2
Nick Suzuki 1 Power Play Goals Brock Faber 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Sam Montembeault .833 Save Percentage Filip Gustavsson .880
Sam Montembeault 20 Saves Filip Gustavsson 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 25 3 1-5 4-6 19 28
Minnesota 24 4 2-6 4-5 25 27
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Boston. The Wild have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .353 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .529 after a loss.