With an assist in the Minnesota Wild’s 3-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night, Kirill Kaprizov became the first player in franchise history to record four consecutive 50-point seasons.
Only Mikko Koivu (seven), Marian Gaborik (five) and Zach Parise (four) have had four or more 50+ point seasons in Wild history before Kaprizov. On Wednesday, he joined that club.
But, unlike those three, Kaprizov’s consistency has helped him become the first to reach the feat in a row.
Kaprizov recorded the secondary assist on Joel Eriksson Ek’s first-period power play goal on Wednesday. Kaprizov beat former Wild defenseman Matt Dumba to a puck in the corner after Kaprizov’s redirection on Matt Boldy’s pass was saved by Coyotes’ goalie Connor Ingram.
Earlier this month, Kaprizov became the first player in franchise history to score 20+ goals in four straight seasons. Eriksson Ek is bound to become the second player to accomplish this feat next season. In the past, Zach Parise, Nino Niederreiter, Jason Zucker, Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston, Kevin Fiala and Eric Staal scored 20 or more goals in three straight seasons with the Wild.
Kaprizov has 20 goals and 50 points (a 33-goal, 82-point pace) and a +5 rating in 45 games this season and has averaged 21:04 of ice time per game. He ranks second in goals (20) behind Eriksson Ek and second in assists (30) behind Mats Zuccarello — but his 50 points lead the Wild. In his past 18 games, Kaprizov has 12 goals and 26 points.
Kaprizov, 26, has 284 points in 249 career games and for the fourth season in a row, he has eclipsed the 50-point mark after recording 51, 108 and 75 points in his first three NHL seasons, respectively.
If the Wild are going to make the playoffs, they need Kaprizov to continue his dominance down the stretch.