With the Washington Capitals in town, fans who came to Grand Casino Arena hoping to see a Russian sniper illuminate the goal light absolutely got what they were expecting. Sort of.

Capitals legend Alexander Ovechkin was held scoreless, but Wild veteran Vladimir Tarasenko had a pair of goals, helping Minnesota to a 5-0 win on Tuesday.

It was a Russian-dominated night for the Wild, with Kirill Kaprizov and Danila Yurov — after a pretty assist by Tarasenko — also scoring. Matt Boldy added a late shorthanded goal.

The fifth victory in a row for the Wild came due in part to a 25-save shutout performance from goalie Filip Gustavsson, and avenged a lopsided loss to the Capitals earlier in the season.

Kaprizov scored in the second period and made franchise history in the process. His 70th career power play goal moved Kaprizov ahead of Zach Parise for the most man advantage goals in franchise history.  It was also Kaprizov’s 206th career goal, which places him second on the Wild’s career list, one better than Mikko Koivu. The franchise record of 219 is held by Marian Gaborik.

Minnesota emerged from the first period with a lead after Tarasenko wired the team’s first shot on goal past the Caps’ goalie with a wrist shot from the high slot. It was Tarasenko’s fourth goal of the season and his first at home since Nov. 1.

After the Wild killed the game’s first power play, the lead nearly doubled, but Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren thwarted Marcus Foligno’s breakaway with a glove save. On the next shift, Gusvatsson did the same, making a left pad save on Connor McMichael’s breakaway attempt.

Already thin on the blue line, the Wild lost defenseman Daemon Hunt in the first after what appeared to be a knee-on-knee collision with Washington center Ethen Frank.

Minnesota finally created some breathing room on a second period power play, when a long-range shot by Quinn Hughes hit traffic in front, but Kaprizov backhanded the rebound past Lindgren for a 2-0 lead.

Matt Kiersted, playing his second game for the Wild, assisted on Boldy’s shorthanded goal. I t was Kiersted’s first point in the Minnesota uniform.

Lindgren, the former Lakeville North and St. Cloud State star, had 27 saves for Washington, which had beaten the Wild 5-1 in October at their home rink a few blocks from the White House.

The Wild have a brief break in their homestanding ways in December, paying their only visit of the season to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. Columbus beat the Wild 7-4 in Minnesota’s home opener on Oct. 11.

Briefly

One of the bigger ovations of the night came during a first period media timeout when Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was shown on the arena’s video screen. Finch, 56, who has led the Wolves to the Western Conference final the past two seasons, was taking in the game from a suite. Wolves power forward Julius Randle, attending the game with his family, posted a social media video welcoming Hughes to Minnesota.

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Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary voters in St. Paul’s House District 64A on Tuesday picked Meg Luger-Nikolai as the candidate who will advance to the January special election.

Luger-Nikolai, a labor lawyer who had the DFL endorsement, had nearly 30% of the vote in a six-candidate contest, according to unofficial results late Tuesday night. Progressive organizer Dan McGrath was the runner-up, with 27% of the vote.

One Republican candidate filed to run in District 64A, ruling out the need for a primary.

Meanwhile, Shelley Buck won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor special primary for Woodbury and Maplewood’s House District 47A. Buck had about 88% of the vote in a three-way race, according to unofficial results.

No Republicans filed to run in District 47A.

Undated courtesy photo, circa December 2025, of Meg Luger-Nikolai, a Democratic candidate in the special primary election for House District 64A on Dec. 16, 2025. The election is to replace Kaohly Her, who vacated her House 64A seat after being elected mayor of St. Paul in November 2025. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Buck is the former president of the Prairie Island Tribal Council and director of a Dakota-led nonprofit organization working to restore land around St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, known as Owámniyomni in the Dakota language. She had the DFL endorsement.

Winners of Tuesday’s pair of DFL special primary elections for two vacant House seats advance to the Jan. 27 special general election. No Republican primary was required in either House district.

Prairie Island Indian Community President Shelley Buck speaks at the Treasure Island Center ribbon cutting in St. Paul on Jan. 16, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Districts 47A and 64A have been vacant since their former representatives won election to new offices in November.

Rep. Kaohly Her, DFL-St. Paul, was elected St. Paul’s next mayor, and Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, DFL-Woodbury, won a special election for Senate District 47, the seat Nicole Mitchell resigned from after her burglary conviction.

Both districts strongly favor Democratic candidates. Six DFLers sought their party’s nomination in St. Paul’s District 64A, which includes the Union Park, Macalester-Groveland and Summit-University neighborhoods.

Besides Luger-Nikolai and McGrath, 64A candidates included:

• Beth Fraser, a former Minnesota deputy secretary of state.

• Matt Hill, an aide on the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners.

• Dan McGrath, a longtime progressive organizer.

• Lois Quam, a health care executive who helped implement MinnesotaCare.

• John Zwier, an assistant state attorney general under Attorney General Keith Ellison

Luger-Nikolai will face the sole Republican candidate, business owner Dan Walsh, in January.

DFLers dominate elections in St. Paul. Her won four consecutive two-year terms with more than 80% of the vote.

Three candidates sought the DFL nomination in House District 47A, which includes parts of the city of Woodbury and southern Maplewood.

Since no Republican filed paperwork to run in the district, Tuesday’s primary likely determines the winner of the January special general election.

Buck competed with David Azcona and Juli Servatius for the DFL nod.

The House currently has 67 Republican members and 65 DFL members, though barring a significant, unprecedented upset, January’s special elections are likely to return the chamber to a 67-67 tie, which voters delivered in the 2024 election.

The Minnesota Legislature is scheduled to reconvene on Feb. 17.

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The Minnesota Wild had a new defenseman make his debut in red and green last weekend, and hardly anyone noticed. Seriously.

Amid all of the much-deserved hype about Quinn Hughes coming to Minnesota and taking his place on the Wild blue line, the local NHL club also welcomed Matt Kiersted back to his home state for his first game on the rink where every local kid dreams of playing.

“There was a lot going on, but it was pretty cool,” Kiersted said on Tuesday, reflecting on his time as a youth hockey player in Elk River. “Being from Minnesota, I grew up watching the Wild. To actually get into a game, to get to play for them in the regular season is pretty special.”

With regular defensemen Jonas Brodin, Jake Middleton and now Zach Bogosian all missing due to injury, and Zeev Buium now playing for Vancouver, Kiersted was back on the ice at Grand Casino Arena on Tuesday versus the Capitals.

While he never made it to St. Paul on a state tournament team, he had played at the Wild’s home rink as a freshman at North Dakota, where he played four years. Saturday’s game versus Ottawa was actually his 40th on a NHL roster, having played the previous five seasons in the Florida Panthers organization, although he was not on their roster for either of the team’s runs to the Stanley Cup in 2024 or 2025.

Over the summer, he signed a two-year deal with the Wild worth $1.55 million and after being sent down during training camp, he notched three assists in 23 games with the Iowa Wild. His call-up to Minnesota was a last minute transaction, but Kiersted still had around 15 friends and family at the rink on Saturday to see his on-ice homecoming. Be became the 37th Minnesota-born player to appear in a regular season game for the Wild in their 25-year history.

He heard from several of his former Fighting Hawks teammates on his way to St. Paul for the debut.

“Everyone’s excited. They were congratulating me on the recall and hoping I can get into a game,” Kiersted said. He logged more than 20 minutes versus the Senators, getting 26 shifts. “I’m just doing anything I can to help the team win.”

He admitted that when he got the chance to sign with Minnesota and play closer to home, it was an easy choice to make.

Injury update

Wild coach John Hynes usually spends 20 seconds or so on gamedays updating the media about the current state of the team’s injured players and when they might return. On Tuesday morning, the team’s health report took a full minute and a half, and the coach joked that he’s starting to lose track amid all of the injuries.

He had good news, with Marcus Foligno returning after missing the previous nine contests with a lower body injury. Then came the bad news:

— Forward Marcus Johansson is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

— Defenseman Zach Bogosian is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

— Defenseman Jonas Brodin is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

— Defenseman Jake Middleton had testing done on Tuesday but remains day-to-day with an upper body injury.

— Forward Mats Zuccarello has begun skating but remains out day-to-day with an upper body injury.

— Forward Vinnie Hinostroza, who has missed the past dozen games with a lower body injury, has begun skating and is day-to-day.

The Wild came into Tuesday’s meeting with the Capitals having missed 111 man-games to injury so far. And that number grew as soon as the puck was dropped.

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By CHRISTINE FERNANDO

CHICAGO (AP) — Senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino returned to the Chicago area on Tuesday, about a month after leaving to lead immigration enforcements in other cities, immigration advocates say.

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Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, was photographed Tuesday in the predominantly Mexican American neighborhood of Little Village by the Chicago Sun-Times as neighbors and activists blew whistles and shouted.

Videos obtained by The Associated Press showed several unmarked cars and Border Patrol agents deploying pepper balls and detaining a man in the neighborhood’s business corridor.

Bovino arrived in the Chicago area in September amid Operation Midway Blitz, which has yielded thousands of arrests and fueled fear among immigrant communities. The operation has become known for its aggressive tactics, including the use of chemical munitions and car chases. Since the operation began, federal agents deployed tear gas in neighborhood streets, hit protesters and journalists with pepper balls and shot at least two people, killing one.

Bovino left Chicago in November to lead immigration operations in New Orleans and North Carolina. While immigration operations had continued in Chicago, they were noticeably subdued with fewer tense confrontations, and Tuesday’s enforcements were among the most visible since Bovino left town.

“As we said a month ago, we aren’t leaving Chicago and operations are ongoing,” said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker complained that he was not given notice that Bovino and additional Border Patrol agents were returning to the Chicago area on Tuesday. And he said he doesn’t know how long they’ll stay.

Pritzker also called on Bovino to testify in front of an Illinois commission created in October to document misconduct by federal agents.

“I’m so proud of the people of Illinois, for doing as they have, which is to protect their neighborhoods and their neighbors, to do the right thing,” Pritzker said Tuesday. “And so, I think we’re in a much better position.”

At a Tuesday news conference, activists vowed to continue supporting immigrant communities in the Chicago area. Advocates said 15 people, including day laborers and a tamale vendor, were detained Tuesday on the city’s Southwest side and in suburban Berwyn and Cicero.

“We are tired but we are not weary,” said Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva. “… Every single time that they come, we are going to show up.”

Victor Rodriguez II, a lifelong resident of Little Village, said he helped a woman when her husband was detained after a “caravan of masked agents began terrorizing our community,” including using pepper balls in neighborhood streets. Rodriguez accused Bovino of “targeted political theater.”

Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said Border Patrol agents questioned striking laborers on Chicago’s Southwest side and accused Bovino of “coming to our picket line to chill union activity.”

“We have seen the first act of this political theater they have brought,” he said. “Now it’s the second act, and we’re ready.”