18 October 2023
Kirill Kaprizov’s sense of the way he has started his four NHL seasons is a little bit askew.
After scoring his first goal of the season on Tuesday, a power play goal in the Wild’s 5-2 victory at Montreal, the young left wing was asked how it felt to put one in the net.
“Usually it’s longer, every year,” he said. “This year, three games.”
The reality is, Kaprizov has never had that much trouble starting what head coach Dean Evason called his “very gifted engine.” He scored in his first NHL game in January 2021, and last season scored eight goals and 13 points in his first 10 games on the way to 40-35–75 in 67 games.
Remarkably, Kaprizov went without a goal in his first eight games of the season in 2021-22, the year he set a franchise record with 47 points and 108 points. Apparently, when you’re so accustomed to scoring goals, that tends to be the start you remember.
Still, Kaprizov’s game at Bell Centre was a welcome one for player and team. The young star didn’t play poorly in his first two games — he had an assist each in a 2-0 victory over Florida and 7-4 loss at Toronto — but he didn’t seem himself.
The Wild played short a forward on Tuesday after Matt Boldy suffered an upper body injury at Toronto and coaches were hoping the extra shifts might help Kaprizov get back to normal. He played a team-high 22 minutes, 4 seconds and finished with a goal and two assists.
Evason said the coaching staff showed Kaprizov video clips of when he has played his best before Tuesday’s game.
“He moved his feet tonight,” the coach said. “You could tell (during practice Monday) he was just pushing himself to get started, to start that obviously very gifted engine that he has, and he did.”
Linemate Mats Zuccarello had three assists, two on power play goals by Joel Eriksson Ek, and four shots on goal. Kaprizov had six shots on net.
It was a welcome sight for Evason, who thought the two close friends weren’t attacking enough in the offensive zone.
“I really liked the way they played,” he said. “It was straight forward, it wasn’t east-west, it was a lot of north stuff there. They were taking it to the net, they were both shooting the puck, as far as Kirill and Zuccy. So, a lot of good signs.”
Kaprizov seemed relieved.
“Feel better a little bit,” he said. “I tried not to think about this too much, just try and focus on the team game. Of course, (scoring) is always good for myself.”
Briefly
The Wild are expected to recall a forward up from AHL Iowa for Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings at Xcel Energy Center. After playing short a skater on Tuesday, they are eligible for emergency salary cap relief under NHL rules.