Wild hold off Toronto, showing they can overcome the absence of Kirill Kaprizov

TORONTO – The 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 Maple Leafs 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena to kick off Kaprizov’s second hiatus with a statement victory.

“We know how we played the first half of the season … and it was a little drifting lately,” Jakub Lauko said. “But if we keep doing what we did today, I think we have a big chance to stay on [the] winning side.”

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, captain Jared Spurgeon capitalized on the power play for a milestone, and the fourth line — led by Marat Khusnutdinov’s goal — played its best game of the season before Marcus Foligno stretched out to nudge the puck into an empty net with 15 seconds to go to help the Wild win their second in a row on the road, where they improved to an NHL-leading 19-5-3; last season, they finished 19-18-4 as the visitor.

“Tonight was much more indicative of what our team is about,” coach John Hynes said.

As improbable as it seems considering who they’re missing, this was one of the most Wild-like performances in recent memory.

The effort was reminiscent of the Wild’s torrid start that ended up setting the tone for how the Wild have thrived as the away team.

But back then, the Wild still had Kaprizov in their lineup.

This was their first test since the team announced Tuesday their leading scorer will be out at least a month to have surgery on the same lower-body injury that previously sidelined him 12 games. The Wild picked up seven wins in that span, and they appeared unfazed by having to face the same challenge a second time.

And if they keep the same strategy they used against the Leafs, they should hold up just fine once again because the Wild followed the handbook for playing without a superstar: They received solid goaltending and defending, timely offense and a depth presence.

The fourth line opened the scoring when Khusnutdinov passed off to Devin Shore, who hauled the puck deep in Toronto territory before Lauko took over and fed Khusnutdinov for a one-timer in front 7:07 into the first period.

BOXSCORE: Wild 3, Toronto 1

NHL standings

“No one understands him anyways,” Lauko quipped when asked if Khusnutdinov called for the pass. “When you forecheck, you know where guys are, so he was in the right spot.”

Khusnutdinov’s goal was his second, his last coming Dec. 10 in a shootout victory at Utah. Lauko’s assist was his first since he returned to action Jan. 18 from a nagging injury and Shore’s his second of the season.

“They were skating really well,” Hynes said. “They worked as a trio. They were quick on pucks.”

At 15:35, the Wild doubled their lead only five seconds into their first and only power play when Joel Eriksson Ek won the initial faceoff, Mats Zuccarello worked the puck back to Spurgeon, whose shot was deflected down and past Leafs goalie Joseph Woll (22 saves) by Toronto’s Auston Matthews.

That was Spurgeon’s 400th career point, making him only the fourth player and first defenseman in Wild history to reach the mark. He also tied Zach Parise for third on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.

“There’s a reason why he’s been in the organization so long,” Hynes said, “because of the character of the person and also the talent of the player.”

Early in the second, the Wild denied the Leafs during their only power play and were mostly sturdy the rest of the period; Toronto’s best chance was a breakaway try by William Nylander that hit the post after Declan Chisholm lost the puck at the offensive blue line.

“Just try to take time and space away like always, be close on them,” said Joel Eriksson Ek, who matched up against Matthews’ line that went pointless.

Chisholm and Yakov Trenin suited up for the Wild after both were healthy scratches Sunday in the 4-2 win at Chicago. The Wild also called up Ben Jones from the minors to give them an extra forward for their trip.

The Leafs applied their best pressure in the third, and that’s when they finally solved Gustavsson: Nylander buried a redirect at 8:16.

“I’m happy he’s going to be on my team soon,” said Gustavsson, referring to the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off when he and Nylander will represent Sweden.

But Gustavsson was airtight the rest of the way for his second straight victory after going winless over his previous five starts, and Foligno forced a turnover in the waning seconds before getting in front of Nylander for a loose puck to put the finishing touches on a quintessential Wild showing with Foligno’s third goal in three games.

“We didn’t panic,” said Gustavsson, who became the fifth Swedish goaltender in NHL history to post three consecutive 20-win seasons. “We didn’t chase or take any dumb penalties. We stayed with the plan and just chipped the puck out and even had some O-zone time to waste some time and get some scoring chances.

“A very good game. We can never be perfect, but very good road game.”