Cole Caufield's goal with 15 seconds left lifts Canadiens over Wild, 4-3

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 20, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The Wild ditched their losing streak on the road, but they won’t be coming home off a win.

Cole Caufield scored with 15 seconds left in the third period to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 victory over the Wild at Bell Centre on Tuesday night, Jan. 20, after the Wild won their previous two games on the trip.

Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals on the power play, the latter tying the Wild and Montreal at 3-3 with 7:20 to go in the third period.

Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello had two assists apiece, Brock Faber set a career high in goals with his 11th, and rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt made 29 saves.

The Wild are still without forwards Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Zach Bogosian, who are all sidelined with lower-body injuries.

Coach John Hynes told reporters in Montreal that Eriksson Ek and Bogosian are possibilities to return to action later this week, but Brodin will miss the Olympics after getting named to Sweden’s roster earlier this month. Brodin hasn’t played since Jan. 12.

Bogosian (eight games) and Eriksson Ek (six) have been out even longer, while Boldy and Johansson exited the lineup ahead of this trip.

But the Wild’s veterans have softened the blow from their absences.

Case in point: Tarasenko scored in every game on the trip, racking up five goals during his three-game streak, and the winger also has eight points during a four-game point streak.

How it happened

The Wild were under siege from the get-go, and they scrambled to fend off the Canadiens’ speed and skill.

Not until Montreal’s Phillip Danault slashed Faber did the Wild finally get a break, and they took advantage during the power play on a no-look pass from Zuccarello to Tarasenko for a one-timer 10:44 into the first period.

Quinn Hughes also assisted on the goal, his fifth point on the trip.

But once the Canadiens were back to full strength, they picked up where they left off, scoring twice during an 8-0 run in shots: Danault was first to a rebound in front of Wallstedt at 15:22, and then Alexandre Carrier tipped in a Mike Matheson shot with 52 seconds left in the first.

Overall, Montreal outshot the Wild 15-2.

The Wild had the puck more in the second period and were rewarded for their uptick in pressure when Faber drained a shot inside the left point at 10:16 after a pass from Kaprizov, who skated into the shot’s path to add to the traffic in front of goaltender Jakub Dobes. Vinnie Hinostroza also screened Dobes, and he and Kaprizov earned assists.

Kaprizov finished the trip with six assists.

But again, the momentum was short-lived for the Wild.

Only 2:19 after Faber’s equalizer, Lane Hutson connected on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle.

Turning point

That 3-2 lead for the Canadiens disappeared after back-to-back penalties by Montreal in the third period.

The Wild took a timeout before starting a 45-second 5-on-3, and keeping their first unit on the ice paid off: Tarasenko whacked in a Kaprizov rebound from the goal line.

But the Wild didn’t get at least a point for their effort because of Caufield’s late tally.

Dobes had 16 stops for the Canadiens.

Tarasenko’s 13 total goals are two more than he had last season with Detroit before joining the Wild in an offseason trade.

Up next

The Wild kick off a four-game homestand on Thursday night, Jan. 22, vs. Detroit.