SAN JOSE, CALIF. – Kirill Kaprizov is down a tooth but up in the NHL scoring race.
Kirill Kaprizov, stitched up and missing a tooth, piles up points in Wild victory over San Jose
Kirill Kaprizov had three assists after going two games without much offense and taking a cut to the face.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 8, 2024 at 6:16AM
The Wild star returned to form on Thursday night — albeit with a new look after taking a puck to the face last game — by architecting the turning point in a 5-2 win over the Sharks at SAP Center after not factoring into the offense during his previous two games.
“I just try and play in this game like I usually do and have more energy,” Kaprizov said, “and just try to make some plays and play a little bit simple sometimes too.”
The score was 1-1 when Kaprizov capped off a juggernaut shift by spinning for a no-look pass that sailed behind the San Jose defense and right to the stick of Mats Zuccarello for a one-timer at 8 minutes, 1 second of the second period for the start of Kaprizov’s three-point effort.
“I knew he was passing it,” Zuccarello said, “so it was a pretty nice pass.”
Earlier in the second, the Sharks successfully challenged for offside to overturn a Joel Eriksson Ek goal that would have put the Wild ahead 2-0 after a Zach Bogosian point shot deflected in off San Jose’s Will Smith only 2:22 into the first period.
Then, after the challenge, the Sharks doubled down when Macklin Celebrini scored at 4:36 off the rush; this was the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner and first overall draft pick’s third game after Celebrini was sidelined with a hip injury.
The equalizer was well-earned and not surprising.
San Jose had been upping the pressure since late in the first period, and the Wild needed to re-establish control before the Sharks surpassed them.
Cue Kaprizov, and his eyes-in-the-back-of-his-head chemistry with Zuccarello, to spark the Wild, who improved to 9-2-2.
“They just find each other so much,” goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. “They don’t look, right? Like how did he see? How did he know he was there?
“Even there on the ice, I see the play develop, but I still get surprised sometimes how much they can find each other on a seam pass and then pass backdoor and stuff like that. But they’re a big reason we’re having success.”
Only a few minutes later, the Wild capitalized again, this time when Ryan Hartman tipped in a Frederick Gaudreau shot.
But San Jose challenged for off-side and was correct, once again preventing the Wild from gaining a two-goal cushion.
Eventually, though, they made that buffer stick courtesy the beleaguered power play on its third try of the night.
The Wild ended a 0-for-16 drought when Matt Boldy flung the puck by Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek (26 saves) from the right faceoff circle, with Kaprizov assisting on the play.
“Good shot from Bolds and nice to get that going again,” Zuccarello said.
The penalty kill was also better, going 3-for-3 after surrendering six goals over the past five games.
Fleury was key on a PK late in the second, making a pad save against Alexander Wennberg to prevent the Sharks from getting any closer.
He had 24 stops overall in his 1,029th career game, which tied Patrick Roy for third in NHL history among goaltenders.
In front of the Wild net, Kaprizov remained dynamic the rest of the way, trying a between-the-legs shot in the third before snagging another assist on a Jonas Brodin point shot at 6:02; Gaudreau’s helper on the goal extended his assist and point streaks to a career-high five games.
“Got a couple goals taken back, but nobody was deflated,” Fleury said. “We kept pushing, kept going, and Kirill made it happen again.”
At 16:08, Celebrini notched his second goal and third overall to continue his own showcase, but Boldy put an exclamation point on the Wild’s victory by burying his team-leading eighth goal into an empty net with 1:35 to go.
Boldy’s four game-winning goals lead the league, while Kaprizov’s 24 points are second behind the 25 for Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon; Kaprizov’s 17 even-strength points are tops.
The winger became only the fourth active player with a multipoint streak on the road of at least seven games, tying Edmonton’s Connor McDavid for the third longest behind Nashville teammates Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi (eight games apiece).
“It’s good to see,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “He’s playing with a lot of drive, whether it’s home or on the road. But I think sometimes on the road it’s harder at times because the other coach has the last matchup.
“So, the fact he’s able to play as well as he’s playing on the road is a big component I think to his success early this season as well.”
While Kaprizov performed like he did before he went pointless vs. Toronto and Los Angeles, he didn’t look the same.
Aside from getting a bottom tooth knocked out, which he said he might replace after the season, Kaprizov was also wearing a smattering of stitches above his lip where the puck caught him Tuesday in the 5-1 loss to the Kings.
Asked if that was the first tooth he’d lost, Kaprizov mentioned he’d previously lost half a tooth.
“I appreciate my mask,” Fleury said.
Kaprizov was absent during that game when Los Angeles started its comeback against a sputtering Wild, but his fingerprints were all over the Wild’s most vital stretch against San Jose.
“He was indicative of kind of our team’s mindset tonight,” Hynes said, “and we gotta continue that here on the road.”
Minnesota lost its fourth game in a row, this one to the league leader and a Central Division rival.
