Capitals host Central-leading Wild on Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena

The Washington Capitals return home on a three-game winning streak to face the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. The game airs on ESPN+, MNMT and MINNHL.

It is the first meeting between the two teams this season.

Where things stand

Washington comes in at 8-4-0 with 16 points, third in the Metropolitan Division behind Carolina (24 points) and New Jersey (18) and level on points with the New York Islanders. The Capitals have been strong at home, going 6-2-0 at Capital One Arena.

Minnesota sits atop the Central Division at 9-3-3 with 21 points, three clear of Utah. The Wild are 5-3-2 on the road.

Recent form

The Capitals have won four of their last five. After beating New Jersey 4-2 on Oct. 17 and losing 5-2 to Los Angeles on Oct. 20, Washington edged Buffalo 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 24, handled Philadelphia 5-2 on Oct. 28 and won 4-3 at Nashville on Thursday, Oct. 29.

Minnesota also has won three of its last five. The Wild lost 2-1 at Calgary on Oct. 22, then beat Seattle 5-1, Vancouver 4-2 and Utah 3-1 on consecutive road stops. Their streak ended at home Thursday, Oct. 29, in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders.

Players to watch

Alex Tuch leads the Capitals with 10 goals and 12 points, and Dylan Strome tops the team with nine assists.

Minnesota's offense runs through Kirill Kaprizov, who leads the Wild with 14 goals and 24 points. Quinn Hughes has a team-high 16 assists.

Injuries

Washington has three players on injured reserve: Vincent Desharnais (abdomen), Rasmus Sandin (knee) and Patrick Thomas (upper body).

The Wild are missing a larger group. Jared Spurgeon (lower body), Brock Faber (skull), Filip Gustavsson (hip), Marcus Foligno (lower body) and Nick Foligno (upper body) are all on injured reserve.

Sunday's game follows a home-heavy stretch for Washington, with four of the Capitals' last five games played at Capital One Arena.