Kirill Kaprizov stays hot after his three-point game over the Arizona Coyotes.
Kirill Kaprizov stays hot after his three-point game over the Arizona Coyotes.
ST. PAUL - Kirill Kaprizov is on a different planet right now. Since February 1st, Kaprizov is tied for the most goals with Auston Matthews. His two-goal and three-point night last night, helped the Wild beat the Coyotes 4-1.
Only Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon have more points than Kaprizov's 28 in that span as well.
"Yeah, he's playing with hard skill. He's been hard on pucks, he's got himself in offensive situations, and I think he's playing a great two-way game," Wild head coach John Hynes said on Kaprizov. "He's just playing a real strong, solid style hockey game and he's an elite talent.
"When you combine those things together, you're gonna get the type of production but you know, he's a game changer. And he's been able to do that for a lot of time as you said, but the consistency in his game has been pretty impressive."
Since February 1st, the Wild have scored 59 goals. This means Kaprizov has contributed 47 percent of the team's goals in the last 17 games. He has helped the Wild go 11-4-2 in that span which is third in the NHL in points.
“It’s fun to watch, right? A guy like that, the past 20 or so games, I’ve never seen anything like that," Brock Faber said on Kaprizov. "It’s so awesome to see and he hasn’t changed the way he goes about his business. Whether he’s scoring or not, he makes an impact on how hard he works, 200-foot game he plays. He’s really getting rewarded now.”
Kaprizov, 26, has also recorded 12 power-play points in that span which ranks first in the NHL. His three-point game last night against the Arizona Coyotes had him tie Marian Gaborik for the second-most three-point games in Wild history. Gaborik had 29 in 502 games. Kaprizov has 29 in 262 games.
The Wild are now in a position where if they keep winning they could make a strong push to claim a playoff spot. If they do that, Kaprizov will be a big reason why.
"Yeah, he’s hot. He’s hot. Good, good. Fun to watch. He’s been great for us. I don’t know, feels like he’s smiling a bit more," Marc-Andre Fleury said. "Feels like he’s enjoying it a bit more, too, so it’s fun to see him joking around a little bit and staying loose and obviously producing so much out there."
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