Tag: Kirill Kaprizov

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Kirill Kaprizov under fire amidst Wild playoff series

NHL.com

Minnesota Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov may have been the team’s regular-season leading goal scorer, he’s been quiet in the first round series against the Dallas Stars.

Too quiet.

Team insider Michael Russo of The Athletic posted this on social media following the Wild’s Game 5 loss to Dallas, in which no one from Minnesota managed to get a goal.

“Kaprizov has no even-strength points in the series. His lone point was with 48 seconds left in the 1st period of Game 1. He has gone 293 minutes, 8 seconds without a point. That’s 14 consecutive periods without a point, plus 12:20 of the second overtime of Game 1.”

Fans and pundits have been waiting for Kaprizov to have a breakout game and now he has no other choice but to have it in do or die Game 6 on Friday. Some are worried that the Russian sniper might not be fully healthy, he who returned at the end of the regular season after missing some time with a lower-body injury after he was tackled to the ice by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley on March 8.

Kaprizov has been trying and recorded a shot on goal on a flawlessJake Oettinger on Tuesday. In Game 4 as Russo put it, Kaprizov had four shots on goal, “including a breakaway Oettinger stopped that would have tied the score. He had seven other shots that were either blocked or missed the mark.”

However with Minnesota on the brink of elimination ahead of Friday’s action, the Wild need Kaprizov to lead the way. Maybe being under fire with fans calling for him to get back to his usual ways and authentic self with motivate Kaprizov to start scoring!

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Minnesota Wild rip ex-teammate Ryan Suter

Sports Illustrated

Former Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Suter was lured just over 10 years ago to the Minnesota Wild alongside his good friend Zach Parise; they both inked identical 13 year, $98 million contracts in what was thought to be the beginning of a golden era of Wild hockey.

Unfortunately, the team never advanced past the second round with their dynamic duo, and they were both bought out of the remainder of their deals by general manager Bill Guerin in the summer of 2021. Suter subsequently signed with the rival Dallas Stars, while Parise headed east for the New York Islanders. 

Suter is now facing his former Wild teammates in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he’s already gotten under their skin in a major way. Suter got away with not one but two separate brutal crosschecks to the back of Russian sniper Kirill Kaprizov over the course of what would eventually be a 3-2 Wild double overtime victory. 

Needless to say, this didn’t sit well with the Wild players. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Suter was catching some serious heat from his ex-teammates in the Minnesota dressing room following the game: 

“Gaudreau, playing hurt, looked bothered at times. Middleton, who was outstanding, hobbled to the bench on one occasion. Same with Johansson and Kaprizov, who ate a couple vicious cross-checks from Ryan Suter, who is not a popular fixture at all inside his old locker room. Wild players were ripping the longtime former Wild defenseman to shreds in the celebratory postgame locker room.”

As you may remember, Suter was referred to as “uncoachable” by a former Wild head coach, while his close relationship with Wild owner Craig Leipold was a reported source of tension within the organization. 

Expect some fireworks tonight when the two teams get together for Game 2 from American Airlines Center! 

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Kirill Kaprizov 2nd fastest active player to reach postseason milestone!

Mitchell Republic

It was another highly productive season for Minnesota Wild Russian sniper Kirill Kaprizov, who lit the lamp behind opposition goaltenders 40 times while adding another 35 assists during the 2022-23 season. As Minnesota’s most gifted offensive force, he’s relied upon for timely goal scoring – and so far in his young career, he’s been able to come through in spades. 

And not just in the regular season. Thanks to his goal in Game 1 of Minnesota’s opening round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the rival Dallas Stars, he became the second fastest active player to reach 10 career postseason goals. He trails only his countryman Vladimir Tarasenko, a Stanley Cup champion in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues before his career even began.

The Wild and Stars will get back at things tonight starting at 9:30 PM EST from American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. Minnesota will be looking to take a 2-0 series stranglehold before the series shifts back to the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. 

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Wild finally get some good news on Kaprizov

Zuma Press

According to a report from Minnesota Wild insider Joe Smith of The Athletic, injured Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov hit the ice today for the first time since suffering a serious lower body injury in early March.

From Smith’s article this morning for The Athletic:

Monday morning, before the Wild’s pregame skate with the Vegas Golden Knights, Kirill Kaprizov is expected to skate with skating and skills coach Andy Ness for the first time since sustaining a lower-body body injury on March 8, according to multiple team sources.

The big question now remains whether there’s enough time for Kaprizov to be ready before the end of the regular season.

The initial goal for a Kaprizov return was three to four weeks. Wednesday marks four weeks from Kaprizov’s injury in Winnipeg when Logan Stanley fell on top of him. General manager Bill Guerin has indicated the hope is Kaprizov can play in the final week of the regular season.

“You never know, right?” coach Dean Evason said. “I don’t know, honestly. We’ll get him on the ice and have a better idea.”

“Any player, you want them to play some games obviously before the playoffs,” Evason said. “You don’t want to just put them in the playoffs. Having said that, can Kirill Kaprizov step in and play if his first game was the playoffs? I’m sure he’d be fine. But, the same for any other player, we’d like to get them a few games before.”

– Joe Smith

Obviously, Kaprizov’s addition to the lineup would be a HUGE boon for the Wild. The 25 year old Russian has 39 goals and 74 points in 65 games this season and was pushing a 100 point pace when he went down with injury back on March 8th, 2023. Here’s hoping he can get back into the lineup as soon as possible and give himself at least a few regular season games under his belt before gearing up for the post-season. The Wild have officially clinched a playoff spot, so there’s no rush to get Kaprizov back into the lineup other than to help get him into shape for the post-season grind.