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Wild face Capitals, look to stay unbeaten

Oct 12, 2006 - 1:15 PM Washington (1-1-0) at Minnesota (3-0-0) 8:00 pm EDT

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) - The Minnesota Wild hope to improve on the best start in franchise history when they host the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

Minnesota won its third straight game to start the season with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Petteri Nummelin scored the shootout winner when he beat Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo.

The Wild lead the league in power-play proficiency, going 6-for-13 (46.2 percent).

The Capitals should be well rested, as their last game was a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday. Alexander Semin scored a hat trick while Alexander Ovechkin scored twice for Washington.

The two have scored six of Washington's seven goals this season.

Netminder Olaf Kolzig has started in both of Washington's games, registering a 3.02 goals-against average with a .903 save percentage.