ST. PAUL — When it mattered most, in a game where the Minnesota Wild couldn't afford to lose, Kirill Kaprizov put the team on his back by scoring his third hat trick this season en route to a key 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks inside Xcel Energy Center on Sunday.
The Wild — whose three-game skid ended in the win — aren't out of the playoff race just yet despite sitting eight points behind the eighth-place Nashville Predators with their playoffs odds at 7.7 percent, according to MoneyPuck.com. But a loss to the 31st place Sharks on home ice would've been damaging, as if losses to the Predators and St. Louis Blues this week weren't costly enough.
The Wild may be running out of time, but Kaprizov delivered Sunday and bought the team more time to continue their quest for a wild-card spot with 20 games left this season. The team especially needed him since they went the 11-forward, seven-defensemen route with Mats Zuccarello (personal reasons) and Marcus Johansson (lower body injury) out of the lineup.
“I would say how competitive he is,” coach John Hynes said of what he’s learned about Kaprizov since taking over as coach on Nov. 27. “I’d say two things. He’s an extreme competitor and the other part is just his love of the game.
“He loves to be on the ice, whether it’s practice, games. He loves the game of hockey and the thing that I really respect about him (is) sometimes guys just like to play the games, but Kirill’s in great shape. He’s a coachable guy. He’s a great teammate. Practices really well, and he’s an extreme competitor.”
With three goals Sunday in 22:18 of ice time, Kaprizov recorded his 300th career point (143-157-300) and now has a team-leading 29 goals — one more than Joel Eriksson Ek at 28 — and 66 points this season. “He’s a beast,” Freddy Gaudreau said. “He’s double-shifting sometimes, (and) you can’t even notice. He doesn’t seem tired. He does everything.”
Kaprizov not only became the fastest player in Wild history to reach the 300-point milestone, but his third hat trick of the season (and fifth of his career) on Sunday tied Marian Gaborik and Zach Parise for the most in a single season in franchise history. Not to mention he became the fifth fastest active player to reach the 300-point milestone.
Since Feb. 7, Kaprizov is tied for second with Toronto’s William Nylander in goals (10) and points (21) in the NHL. Kaprizov continued his red hot play Sunday by carrying the Wild in a game where they deserved to win — but almost didn't.
The Wild outshot the Sharks 32-15 and had a 64-39 edge in shot attempts and controlled 65.29 percent of the expected goal share. The Wild had full control of almost the entire game, but still found themselves trailing until the end.
Former Wild forwards Mikael Granlund and Nico Sturm gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead with goals 3:15 apart early in the second after a scoreless first period.
The Wild were quick to respond to the two-goal deficit. Freddy Gaudreau ended his 23-game scoring drought with his first goal since Dec. 31 just 70 seconds after Sturm added to the Sharks' lead.
Then Mason Shaw, in his second game this season after making his season debut Saturday in St. Louis, recorded his first point of the season when Kaprizov beat former Wild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen high glove from the slot on a breakaway after a slick stretch pass by Shaw.
“He’s a great shooter,” Filip Gustavsson said. “He picks his corners.”
The Wild erased the two-goal deficit in just 2:05. “We knew it was not going to be easy coming in tonight,” Gaudreau said. “That's why when they took the lead, we didn't panic. We just kept focusing on playing the right way, and I think we did a good job at that, and I think that allowed us to stay in the game.”
Yes, that, and Kaprizov.
Anthony Duclair momentarily gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead with a goal 23 seconds into the third period. But Kaprizov had an answer 2:15 later with his one-timer from the high slot beating Kahkonen (28 saves on 32 shots) bar down.
With a lot at stake in the game, Kaprizov delivered again with another bar down goal, this time from the right circle, with 3:59 left on the clock. “Good passes from guys,” Kaprizov said.
“It’s amazing,” Gustavsson said of watching Kaprizov.
“All those players that are at his level in this league, you wish you had that talent yourself, and you could do it. I hope everyone can enjoy watching those players. That’s what I’m doing.”
The Wild have a lot more ground to make up, but Kaprizov delivered and bought them more time.
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