ST. PAUL — It took Kirill Kaprizov just 32 seconds to find the back of the net on Thursday night as he scored on a spinorama move on his first shift in his preseason debut inside Xcel Energy Center before adding an empty net marker with 31 seconds left in the Wild's 4-2 exhibition win over the Colorado Avalanche.
"So fun to watch," Brock Faber said.
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Still, the Wild's superstar winger wasn't satisfied. "I can score more," he said. Kaprizov finished with a team-high six shots on Thursday night, which included two breakaways. You can tell how driven he is, something he touched on earlier in training camp, after the Wild lost in the first round again.
“I’m staying calm but for sure,” Kaprizov said earlier in training camp through his interpreter IIya Kravtchouk, “extremely motivated, extremely hungry — and the fire’s been lit for sure.”
Kaprizov didn't have the ending he wanted as a team or individually last year, scoring just one goal in the Wild's loss to the Dallas Stars in six games. It's important to note, though, that he missed 13 consecutive games in March and in the beginning of April due to injury, so he didn't have much runway heading into the playoffs. Now Kaprizov is looking to build off his first three seasons: 51 points in 55 games in his rookie season, 47 goals and 108 points in his sophomore season and 40 goals and 75 points in 67 games last season.
Marcus Foligno told the media earlier in training camp that "you're going to see a better Kaprizov out there."
“It’s scary to say, but it's great for us," Foligno said. "Just very committed. He’s ticked off. Wasn’t a good ending for all of us. He had to be frustrated by his injury at the end of the season.
Kirill is scary when he’s mad, and he wants that puck, so I think that’s what you’re going to see a lot. The battle. That’s what we talk about with our team, the culture. The work ethic. It starts and ends with him. He’s our best player.”
Kaprizov got off to the right start Thursday night in preseason action, and the Wild need him to keep delivering elite play and electrifying goals for them all season long.
Faber played like he belonged
Faber made his Wild preseason debut Thursday night alongside Jonas Brodin, who is "probably one of the easiest guys you could ever play with," Faber said. The 21-year-old Maple Grove native is coming off an eight-game stint with the Wild last April between the final two regular season contests and six-game series against the Dallas Stars after completing his third and final season with the Gophers.
Well, Faber once again showed why he's not only ready to be an NHL regular but also capable of handling a top-four role even though his performance wasn't perfect.
"A few turnovers here and there that I wasn't happy about. A few things defensively that I wasn't happy about, but I'm going to continue to grow," Faber said postgame. "I felt a lot more comfortable.
I felt a lot more aggressive, but now it's just making some smarter decisions, being a little more aggressive at times and obviously still just getting in better shape, getting my body even more and more ready come Game 1."
Faber made plays on both ends of the ice and finished the game with two assists in 21:31 of the ice time. He also sported a 72 percent expected goals rate at five-on-five, second to Alex Goligoski and fifth overall, according to Natural Stat Trick.
"What we liked about his game in particular tonight was his offensive zone (play)," head coach Dean Evason said. "He was jumping into the play. He was carrying the puck. He was rotating in our routes and our cycles, which we've asked him to do. ... We liked that he was generating from that end, too."
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Scoreless Rossi piles up the chances
Marco Rossi didn't score Thursday night in his second preseason appearance, but he looked like a vastly improved player since last season who is ready to make an impact. The 22-year-old Rossi, who missed on a penalty shot, looked stronger on pucks and won battles while both driving offense and playing responsible defensively.
"Yeah, I feel pretty confident right now," Rossi said. "I had a lot of chances today, so some nights you score, some nights you don't score."
Rossi finished the game with five shots in 13:18 of ice time. He led the Wild with a 92 percent expected goals rate at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
"Probably one of the best games we've seen (from him)," Evason said. "He carried the puck, (and) he had pace to his game. Made plays in the offensive zone and again was good defensively, too, had a good stick."
Up next: The Wild play the Chicago Blackhawks at home Saturday night at 6 p.m.