Minnesota fell back on depth, defense and Filip Gustavsson’s goaltending and improved its NHL-best road record.

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.

The Minnesota Wild got off to a strong start during a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena last night. (Wednesday) Marat Khusnutdinov and Jared Spurgeon

"I feel good despite numbers," said Rielly, who has five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in 51 contests. "It's a battle right now. Just trying to compete and play the best I can."

The Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled to score goals during their recent three-game losing streak, prompting forward William Nylander to voice his frustration after Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Minnes

The Minnesota Wild took down the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, 3-1.

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.

(Toronto, Ontario) -- The Wild got 31 saves from Filip Gustavsson in a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night in Toronto.

The Minnesota Wild scored two first-period goals and got a 31-save effort from Filip Gustavsson to key a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday in Toronto.

Filip Gustavsson made 32 saves for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. “We had really strong work ethic,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said.

The Minnesota Wild survived without Kirill Kaprizov the first time, and they can do it again. That’s the message they sent Wednesday, when they upended the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena to kick off Kaprizov’s second hiatus with their most convincing victory in weeks.