Rossi, Kaprizov help Wild beat Ducks 5-1 for 5th straight win

By DOUG PADILLA The Associated Press

Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi (23) celebrates his goal with left wing Marcus Foligno (17) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Kyusung Gong]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Marco Rossi had two goals and an assist, Kirill Kaprizov added a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 on Friday night for their season-high fifth straight win.

Matt Boldy also had a goal and two assists, Yakov Trenin scored into an empty net and Filip Gustavsson made 26 saves for the Wild.

Brock McGinn had a goal and John Gibson made 28 saves for the short-handed Ducks, who were without forwards Trevor Zegras (lower body) and Leo Carlsson (upper body).

Rossi opened the scoring on a power play when he delivered from near the right post at 4:22 of the second period. He added his second of the game and ninth of the season less than four minutes later to make it 2-0.

Boldy scored less than three minutes later off a pass from Rossi.

Kaprizov pounced on a loose puck in front of the Ducks’ goal early in the third period to score his team-leading 17th for a 4-0 lead. McGinn scored for the Ducks with under three minutes remaining to spoil the shutout.

Takeaways

Wild: Minnesota is 7-0-2 in its last nine road games, and Kaprizov has a 13-game points streak in road games.

Ducks: On the day Anaheim added defenseman Jacob Trouba in a trade with the New York Rangers, defenseman Cam Fowler tied Corey Perry for the second-most games played in franchise history at 988.

Key moment

Rossi got credit for his second goal, and first multi-goal game of the season, while near the Ducks’ net as Gibson was unable to corral a loose puck and ultimately kicked it into his own net.

Key stats

The Wild lead the NHL in scoring the first goal of a game, doing it for the 17th times this season. Anaheim is now second with 16.

Up Next

Wild visit Los Angeles on Saturday, and Ducks visit Montreal on Monday to open a four-game trip.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL