 and Steve Yzerman (362) had more. Ovechkin also passed Phil Esposito for fifth all-time with his 144th career multi-goal game.Ovechkin's 11 goals in games played March 1 tie Jan. 31 for his most on a calendar day.Fiala got the Wild within 3-2 before the period ended. He is on an Ovechkin-like run with goals in four straight games and 11 in 14.''I just try to make it, and right now it's going in,'' Fiala said. ''I'm very happy about that. But it can go the other way, too, so I don't want that.'' Wilson made it 4-2 for Washington 40 seconds into the third period on a feed from Ovechkin after Kuznetsov thwarted an attempted clear by Ryan Suter. Wilson has four goals in six games.''It's a great play from O,'' Wilson said. ''I think it shows what type of teammate he is. He's got the puck right in the slot, chance for a hat trick and he dishes it off.'' Parise scored on the power play with 7:07 left.NOTES: With an assist on Parise's goal, Fiala set a career high with 49 points. ... LW Ilya Kovalchuk recorded an assist, his first point in three games with the Capitals. ... This was Washington's last game outside the Eastern time zone.UP NEXTCapitals: home against Philadelphia on Wednesday.Wild: home against Nashville on Tuesday.---More NHL: www.apnews.com/NHL and www.twitter.com/-Sports)
Another explosive performance on offense has the Minnesota Wild looking at the standings even closer as they return home to the Twin Cities.Minnesota's offense will need to be up to the task on Sunday when they host the Washington Capitals, owners of the top spot in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division. Puck drop in St. Paul is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN).The Wild trounced the slumping Blue Jackets 5-0 in Columbus on Friday night, getting 24 saves from goalie Alex Stalock and handing the Metro team its 10th defeat in its last 11 games (1-5-5).While much of the focus Friday was on Stalock's ninth career shutout, Minnesota's sudden surge with the puck on its stick cannot be ignored.Winners of five of their last six outings, the Wild have outscored the opposition 27-15 during the stretch that has propelled the Central Division team into a group of seven teams separated by four points and vying for four playoff spots after Friday's games.The team has shared the production, too. In the whitewashing of Columbus, 11 Wild players found the scoresheet, led by Zach Parise's goal and two assists and two-point efforts by Kevin Fiala (goal, assist) and Jordan Greenway (two assists).Parise's name came up in trade talks on Monday's deadline, but the Minnesota native remained a member of the Wild when all of the transactions were finalized. The state's leading NHL goal producer ever (383 career tallies), Parise said the team's unselfish contributions could help in advancing to the postseason."Right now, the way we're playing, everyone is contributing on both sides of the puck," said Parise, 35. "Everyone is being reliable without the puck and it's working for us. The schedule is going to get tougher the next couple games, so that will be the challenge to keep playing that way on both sides of the puck." The schedule actually does get tougher -- like, immediately.Washington has been perched atop the Metro standings from the outset -- buoyed by a 14-2-4 start through the season's first 20 games -- but also added rugged defenseman Brenden Dillon and scoring winger Ilya Kovalchuk in their pursuit of a second Stanley Cup in the last three campaigns.The Capitals are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and 1-1-0 since the deadline, splitting a home-and-home set against the Winnipeg Jets. They blew a three-goal lead but beat Winnipeg, 4-3, in the shootout Tuesday at home before being blanked by goalie Connor Hellebuyck's 34-save performance in a 3-0 loss Thursday in Winnipeg.Dillon produced nine hits and four penalty minutes in Washington's 5-3 win over Pittsburgh last Sunday, and Kovalchuk has produced six shots on goal but is minus-3 in his first two games with his new team.Washington's Nick Jensen said players feel an enormous relief following the deadline."So once that's kind of out of the way, there's a sense like it's back to focusing on this final stretch before playoffs," Jensen said. "Every team, they're set for the rest of the season. Every team's trying to make their push for the playoffs so there's kind of that sense like, here we go. This is it." Washington and Minnesota will conclude their season series in D. C. on April 2 in the penultimate game of the season for each side.--Field Level Media
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