Kirill Kaprizov tallied a goal and three assists to become the first player in Minnesota Wild history to score at least 100 points in a season. On Friday night, the Wild set multiple franchise records in their 6-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice and added an assist, while Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, and Nicolas Deslauriers also found the net. Kevin Fiala set a team record with five assists for Minnesota, achieving franchise bests with its 50th win and 107 points.
“There were a lot of milestones tonight, but our group doesn’t really care about that,” said Wild coach Dean Evason. “Kirill and Kevin were more excited when D-Lo scored than anything, which shows you the group is really tight and playing for the right reasons.”
Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves, overcoming an early mistake to improve to 7-1-0 since being acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline.
Daniel Sprong and Yanni Gourde scored early for Seattle, ending their season-high three-game winning streak. Philipp Grubauer had 29 saves.
Matty Beniers also scored for the Kraken, becoming the first rookie to start his NHL career with points in five consecutive games since New Jersey’s Ty Smith from Jan. 14-24, 2021.
Kaprizov matched his career-high with four points, bringing his season total to 45 goals and 56 assists. The Wild have won four straight and are 7-0-2 in their past nine games. Minnesota is 16-1-3 in its past 20 outings, outscoring opponents 77-48 and scoring at least three goals in 18 games.
“For me, obviously, it’s a huge accomplishment … but we need to focus on getting better every game and building momentum for the playoffs,” Kaprizov said through an interpreter.
The Wild have tied a team record for consecutive home points, going 12-0-1 in their last 13 games at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota holds a two-point lead over St. Louis for second place in the Central Division and is 29-6-2 at home. The teams are set for a first-round playoff matchup.
Fiala drew three defenders down 2-1 after the first period before assisting on Eriksson Ek’s second goal early in the second.
Minnesota then scored four times in a 7:37 stretch. Kaprizov redirected Fiala’s shot past Grubauer, and Hartman scored short side to make it 4-2. Fiala and Kaprizov assisted on Zuccarello’s goal before Deslauriers scored on his own rebound.
Kaprizov and Zuccarello’s goals came on the power play, as did Eriksson Ek’s first goal. The Wild tied a season-high with three power-play goals.
“The second period, they played like a team fighting for playoff position. We played 20 minutes of shinny hockey. That’s the bottom line,” said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol, criticizing bad turnovers.
“A lot of their offense was self-inflicted. We kind of gave it to them,” Beniers said.
Fiala has a four-game multi-point streak with nine goals and 12 assists in his last nine games.
“If you think about the points, they don’t come,” Fiala said. “I just come here to have fun with the guys and play the game. Everything falls into place.”
Matt Boldy had an assist, extending his career-high point streak to eight games, surpassing Marian Gaborik’s rookie record of seven. Boldy has points in his last 10 games but missed four games due to injury after the first two.
Game Notes
Zuccarello (lower body) did not play in the third period and will be rested Sunday as a precaution. Minnesota C Tyson Jost (lower body) returned after missing three games. Seattle signed D Ryker Evans to a three-year, entry-level contract. The team’s second-round pick in the 2021 Draft, Evans had 14 goals, 47 assists, and 61 points in the WHL this season.
UP NEXT
- Kraken: At Dallas on Saturday.
- Wild: At Nashville on Sunday.
