Kirill Kaprizov sees 'signal' in lineup shuffle, responds with 4-point game vs. Stars

The line juggling wasn't a message intended for just Wild wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.

"We were trying to send a message to the whole group that they can play with anybody," coach Dean Evason said. "It's not an individual message. It's a team message."

But Kaprizov and Zuccarello had two of the splashiest responses to the shakeup, with Kaprizov posting a career-high four-point effort and Zuccarello earning three points in a 7-2 takedown of the Stars on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center in a dramatic bounce-back from the 4-1 loss to the Sharks earlier in the week.

And despite being sent to different lines, Kaprizov and Zuccarello still overlapped on the ice occasionally – enough to pocket three goals together.

"I definitely think it was a little bit of a signal," Kaprizov said in Russian through a translator. "I think both of us went out there and played our game, played the best we could, and it just so happened that both of us ended up getting some points together. So, it worked out."

Kaprizov started the game with Victor Rask and Frederick Gaudreau, while Zuccarello lined up with Kevin Fiala and Ryan Hartman.

These lines stayed intact for most of the game, but the Wild did begin to play Kaprizov with Zuccarello and Rask every now and then after the three teamed up for the game's second goal amid a line change – a shot by Kaprizov set up by Zuccarello and Rask.

Usually, the three were utilized after a Wild penalty kill; since none of them handle that side of special teams, they're fresh options when the Wild gets back to full strength. And that's when the unit capitalized in the third period.

After Dallas' second goal, Zuccarello scored the Wild's sixth goal before Rask tacked on the seventh only 45 seconds later. The scene was reminiscent of many games last season when the three played together, forming one of the Wild's most productive lines.

Evason didn't reunite them permanently on Thursday night, but perhaps he does this weekend when the Wild begins another road trip Saturday at Florida.

Either way, the performance probably locks Rask into the lineup for at least another game.

He was back in action after sitting out four straight games as a healthy scratch, and he finished with a goal and two assists. Three points tied his career high.

"Victor is a smart player," Zuccarello said. "He makes plays, and it's especially hard when he's been out of the lineup for a little bit and comes in. Kudos to him."

Another three-point game belonged to defenseman Alex Goligoski, who scored his first goal with the team after signing with the Wild in the offseason.

In seven games since missing three with an upper-body injury, Goligoski has six points.

"I've been feeling a lot better, more comfortable, since I came back from injury, kind of game-by-game," he said. "It can take a little while. New team. I've been playing for the same coach the last four years, so it's a little different system stuff and just chemistry with guys, where to put pucks, and everyone is different and it can take a little time. But yeah, felt good tonight."

No one, though, had more entries in the scoring summary of the box score more than Kaprizov.

He became the fourth Wild player in the last 15 years to record a four-point game at age 24 or younger. Matt Dumba (23), Guillaume Latendresse (22) and Pierre-Marc Bouchard (23) are the others.

"He's a hard worker every time get gets on the ice," Zuccarello said. "Sometimes you have to see beyond the goals and assists and see what he creates and how hard he works for the team."