WASHINGTON — Pucks weren't all the Wild sent to the crease.
They also planted 6-foot-plus screens in front of the net, a combination that fueled their 4-2 rally against the Capitals on Tuesday at Capital One Arena and kicked off their four-game road trip with their third consecutive victory.
Captain Jared Spurgeon scored twice, including the final go-ahead goal to cap off the Wild's comeback, Connor Dewar picked up two assists and goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 34 shots from a Washington squad that was finishing off a back-to-back.
Despite that schedule, the Capitals had the edge early, converting with 1 minute, 3 seconds left in the first period when Martin Fehervary polished off a give-and-go with Alex Ovechkin.
Just 50 seconds into the second period, the Wild responded when Spurgeon walked into a Washington clearing attempt, a shot that sailed by Charlie Lindgren while Jordan Greenway (6 feet, 6 inches) was standing in front of Lindgren.
This goal counted as Spurgeon's 20th point of the season, the 11th time he's reached that plateau in his NHL career; only Mikko Koivu (15 seasons) has accomplished the feat more in Wild history.
Only 4:15 after Spurgeon scored, the Capitals regained the lead when Ovechkin once again was in playmaking mode.
He dropped a pass to Fehervary, who flung the puck toward the net where Dylan Strome tipped it by Gustavsson. That was Ovechkin's 33rd point in 20 career games against the Wild.
But before the period ended, the Wild surged ahead using the same strategy that worked on their first goal.
After circling the offensive zone, Jonas Brodin flung a puck by Lindgren at 13:12 while Ryan Reaves (6-2) stood in the shot's path. Brodin's goal was his first of the season and first since April 28, 2022, vs. the Flames.
Then with 1:45 left, Spurgeon wound up from the right point and capitalized as Brandon Duhaime (6-2) was just outside the blue paint; Reaves was nearby, too, and snagged an assist on the play.
With seven multi-goal games in his career, Spurgeon tied Matt Dumba for the most among Wild defensemen. Spurgeon has seven goals and sits at 366 career points, only three from tying Ryan Suter for fourth on the franchise's all-time scoring list.
As for Dewar, who assisted on Spurgeon's second tally and Brodin's equalizer, he's up to two multi-point efforts this season.
The Wild power play went 0 for 2, but Washington didn't take advantage either by going 0 for 3.
Two of the Capitals' power plays came in the third period, and the Wild surrendered only two shots during the second opportunity.
Joel Eriksson Ek added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds to go, his 15th of the season.
Gustavsson, who made a clutch save in the waning minutes against former Wild forward Marcus Johansson by clipping the puck with his skate blade, improved to 10-2 over his last 12 games since Nov. 19. This was his 17th start of the season, a new career high for the first-year Wild netminder after an offseason trade from the Senators.
At the other end, Lindgren, who played three seasons at St. Cloud State, racked up 18 saves.
Next up for the Wild is a Thursday matchup at Carolina; they're 6-1-2 in their last nine road games.
