Despite injuries, Wild players find a way to persevere

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Wild’s road trip is living up to its potential.

Before an onslaught of injuries, consecutive games at Washington and Carolina looked as telling of a barometer as the Wild could get, what with all three teams huddled near the top of the standings.

The subsequent subtractions to the Wild threatened to downgrade the meaning of the games, but the tour is back on track.

That’s because a 4-3, come-from-behind shootout victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals on Thursday showed how effective the Wild can be, healthy or not.

“It’s what good teams do,” said Matt Boldy, who netted his second game-deciding shootout goal of the season and sixth in his career. “We’re getting [contributions] from everyone. There’s no one that’s sitting there doing nothing.

“There’s ups and downs throughout a season, and games like this are something that you look back to and you kind of use to your advantage.”

This resilience in the face of harsh adversity is becoming as much a trademark of the season as the Wild’s early dominance, Kirill Kaprizov’s pre-injury MVP candidacy and goaltender Filip Gustavsson’s renaissance.

Without Kaprizov, two top defensemen in captain Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton, and depth forward Jakub Lauko, the Wild still received the timely goals and saves needed to fend off a credible competitor like Washington. Their next opportunity for an encore is Saturday vs. the Hurricanes.

“We played great all night long, from the start to the end,” goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. “We kept it simple. We had the puck a bunch. Everybody help each other. We got out of the zone as a team, forechecked as a team and kept it simple: put pucks on net, get tips, rebounds and stuff like that.

“In our zone, too, blocked some shots and cleared the net, so that was good.”

Fleury did his part.

After a five-game layoff, he returned to the crease with a 28-save effort that culminated in a showdown with his longtime rival Alex Ovechkin in the shootout. Although Ovechkin scored in regulation (his 871st goal to need only 24 more to pass Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record), Fleury blocked Ovechkin’s shot with his glove to go 3-for-3 in the shootout and finalize the Wild’s victory.

“We have so much confidence in him as a goalie, as a teammate and person,” Boldy said. “So, when he gets in there, he gives us his all, and that’s what matters. His all is still pretty freaking good.”

The Wild were in position to pick up a second point because of their poise in regulation.

Washington led for only 1 minute, 5 seconds before the Wild responded, first on a deflection that snapped a 20-goal goal-less rut for Ryan Hartman.

“It wasn’t for a lack of chances,” Hartman said. “I feel like I was getting some opportunities, especially as of late. It’s a constant sometimes when you don’t see it go in then you almost pick a little too much. But I knew it was gonna happen eventually.

“Obviously, I was hoping that maybe it was a little sooner, but it felt good.”

Yakov Trenin played to his strengths, his shorthanded goal a perfect example of how disruptive he can be: His drive-by behind the net forced Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren into a turnover that Trenin deposited to put the Wild ahead 2-1.

“I saw he doesn’t have help from other guys,” Trenin said, “and in worst-case scenario, he could rim and just start a breakout. So, it was kind of easy play for me to go through him.”

Trenin and Hartman supplied the secondary scoring the Wild have needed in Kaprizov’s absence, but their go-to also delivered.

Marco Rossi buried his league-leading, third game-tying goal during the final 10 minutes of regulation when he tipped down a head-man pass from Hartman and wired the puck by Lindgren to extend the action after the Wild trailed 3-2.

“What a great play,” coach John Hynes said. “He comes out of the zone, gains middle ice off the rush, kick out, drives to the net and obviously gets the rebound, and that was a big-time play at a key time.”

The Wild’s sharpest hockey was when they were close to or at full strength, that two-month blitz to open the season still reflected in the Wild’s top-five seeding.

But to continue to rank among the best in the NHL despite their deficits confirms the Wild belong where they are.

“Hopefully in our case, we’re getting [the injuries] out of the way now,” Hartman said, “and we’ll hopefully keep plugging away wins and keep ourselves at the top of the leaderboard.”

Saturday, 6 p.m., Lenovo Center

TV; radio: FanDuel Sports Network North Extra; 100.3 FM

Hurricanes update: The Hurricanes are four points back of the Wild after they also won Thursday, defeating the Panthers 3-1 on the road for only their second victory in five games. … Over the past 10, the Hurricanes are 5-4-1. They’re an impressive 14-4 at home and have given up the same number of goals (105) as the Wild. Carolina also has a top-10 offense and leads the NHL with 32.2 shots-per-game.

Injuries: Wild LW Kirill Kaprizov (lower body), LW Jakub Lauko (lower body), D Jake Middleton (upper body) and D Jared Spurgeon (lower body) are out. Hurricanes G Frederik Andersen (knee), RW Jesper Fast (neck), D Shayne Gostisbehere (upper body) and C Tyson Jost (undisclosed) are out.