Jared Spurgeon and Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the first period, Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.

Squaring off with nearly identical records entering Wednesday’s contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs were presented with a key opportunity to get out of a rut against a quality Minnesota Wild team, with a four-game road trip on the horizon before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews addressed concerns regarding the significant decline in the team's offensive production following their third consecutive loss, a 3-1 defeat to the Minnesot

Filip Gustavsson made 31 saves as the Minnesota Wild edged Toronto 3-1 on Wednesday, sending the Maple Leafs to a third straight regulation loss.

The message, clearly, was received and understood, as Hynes’ team put together a 60-minute effort for its latest in a notable resume of road wins this season. The Wild got a pair of first period goals and played a strong defensive game in a 3-1 win in Toronto, beating the Maple Leafs in regulation for the first time since 2019.

The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped a 3-1 decision against the Minnesota Wild at the Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night.

With the 4 Nations Face-Off only a few weeks away, Toronto might want to keep Auston Matthews away, and given there's no real punishment for it, he should agree. Though it wasn't a surprise to see ...

Leafs dug a hole and they started early. Auston Matthews tries to knock down Jared Spurgeon's shot but it gets by Woll instead pic.twitter.com/q2NjvvUE52 After one it was 2-0 Wild. The Leafs had 63% Corsi and 48% Expected Goals. It's almost like that might be part of the problem along with some bad luck and a vague sense of ennui.