MINNEAPOLIS — The Wild quickly hit the reset button after having their franchise-record 14-game point streak snapped earlier this weekend, holding off the Capitals 5-3 on Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center while getting three regulars back in their lineup.
Matt Boldy scored a hat trick, twice converting off two setups from linemate Marcus Johansson, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 shots to win his seventh straight game.
Boldy tallied his first goal only 50 seconds into the first period, burying the rebound off a Johansson shot behind Lakeville's Charlie Lindgren. On his second shot, he polished off a give-and-go with Johansson at 4:36.
The Capitals cut into their deficit on the power play in the second period, a patented one-timer from Alex Ovechkin.
But the Wild reinstated a two-goal buffer at 10:14 when Ryan Reaves tipped in his third goal over the past four games.
In the third, Brandon Duhaime scored off a rising backhander in his first game since missing seven with an upper-body injury before Ovechkin capitalized again on the power play at 12:33. Ovechkin has 39 goals this season and 819 in his NHL career. Washington finished 2-for-4 on the power play; the Wild went 0-for-3.
Boldy picked up his second career hat trick with 6:02 left in the third on a breakaway. Dylan Strome wrapped up the scoring at 16:26 when he pounced on a loose puck in tight.
The Wild also had Jonas Brodin back in action after he sat out 12 with a lower-body issue, and Jake Middleton returned after he was idle for a pair of games due to illness.
Lindgren totaled 35 saves.
