Kirill Kaprizov continues to rewrite the Minnesota club records.
The Russian is only in his second season in the National Hockey League and, in fact, the first full season, since the previous regular season was shortened due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, after a bright debut, he does not slow down at all.
In the match with St. Louis, the striker chalked up a goal and an assist, thus entering the history of the Wild, and again made him talk about himself as a contender for the Hart Trophy.
Kaprizov's statistical achievements can impress anyone, but the head coach of Minnesota, Dean Evason, is captivated by something completely different in the Russian - the forward adds in the most crucial moments of the game and scores important goals for the team.
The confrontation with St. Louis was no exception, which many called a rehearsal before the playoffs of the tournament.
There is a high probability that the teams will face each other in the first round.
At the same time, the Blues is a very uncomfortable opponent for the Kaprizov team.
In the last ten matches, the Wild have won only twice, and the last away meeting turned out to be no less difficult.
The first period was not in favor of Minnesota.
The Savages attacked more often, but the desire to play beautifully led to unforced errors.
Kirill had a great chance to score after Colton Paraiko lost the puck in front of his net.
But the striker did not use the gift, breaking straight into the goalkeeper.
Ivan Barbashev turned out to be more accurate.
The Russian, who also has a terrific season in the NHL, has scored his 24th goal in the regular season.
This goal was just the beginning of a thriller.
Already in the first minutes of the second period, Ryan Hartman, with the participation of Kaprizov, equalized the score.
Thus, Kirill scored the 50th assist and repeated the club record of forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard for the number of assists for the regular season, set in the 2007/2008 season.
However, already in the next successful Wild attack, the Canadian’s achievement was completely beaten by the Russian’s partner in the link, Mats Zuccarello.
By that time, Minnesota was burning 1:4, so Hartman's second puck after the Norwegian's active actions turned out to be just in time.
By the beginning of the last game segment, the advantage of St. Louis became minimal, Frederic Gaudreau also scored.
The end of the match turned out to be tense.
The teams exchanged goals: the "savages" responded to Pavel Buchnevich's accurate shot with a shot from Marcus Foligno.
But such a result could not suit the guests.
Once again Kaprizov had to save the team.
In the 55th minute, Zuccarello outplayed Pareiko outside the goal and passed the ball to Cyril.
The Russian, who was completely alone on the heel, threw it in touch - 5:5.
This puck was the 43rd for the forward in the regular season.
Thus, he set a new club sniper record for goals in a season, surpassing Marian Gaborik in this indicator.
The Slovak scored 42 times in the 2007/2008 championship.
However, at that moment on the ice, the Russian was not happy at all with his achievements, but with the fact that he managed to transfer the game to overtime.
But in extra time, luck was on the side of St. Louis.
Decisive goal by Brayden Schenn.
Summing up the results of the meeting at a press conference, Kaprizov expressed the hope that Minnesota would win in the playoffs in such matches.
"Thank you for your congratulations.
It's a shame to lose such matches when we make such a comeback.
It's a shame to give away such games, that's all.
What changed during the match was that they started playing their game more, playing the right hockey, from here they started to get chances and began to score.
I don't want to think too far, but I hope that in the playoffs it will be possible to win such matches.
This is a good lesson for us.
Of course, the advantage of his ice in the playoffs is much better.
Probably, it is easier for each team at home, with their stands and fans.
We are no exception, ”said the hockey player.
Meanwhile, in the sniper race, the Russian shares fifth place with Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor.
Toronto FC forward Auston Matthews is in the lead.
He already has 58 goals.
It is unlikely that Kirill will be able to compete for the first line, but you can try to catch up with the captain of Washington, Alexander Ovechkin.
Kaprizov is only four goals behind his compatriot.
The Capitals forward, by the way, also played a bright match on the night from Saturday to Sunday, distinguishing himself in the game with Montreal and a little closer to Wayne Gretzky's record.
In the list of the best scorers in the NHL, Whims with 93 points is in seventh place.
And for the remaining eight meetings, the Russian has a great opportunity to get to the 100 mark, which so far has been overcome by only five forwards in the league.
At the same time, journalists working at NHL matches have already begun to consider Kirill as one of the candidates for the Hart Trophy.
Columnist for the American Post-Bulletin edition Dane Mizutani noted in his article that there are not many players who would have such an impact on the results of the team as the Russian does.
In his opinion, Kaprizov, despite only the second season in the NHL, is already in the top 10 best hockey players in the league.