ST. PAUL, Minn. — Kirill Kaprizov’s 10th goal of the season broke a second-period tie and carried the Minnesota Wild past the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Sunday at Grand Casino Arena. The Wild winger is now alone atop the NHL goal race, while Minnesota improved to 6-2-1 and kept its home record spotless through four dates.
Kaprizov delivers the deciding shot
Kaprizov snapped the 1-1 deadlock 3:06 into the middle frame, working from the low left circle and beating Columbus goaltender Cam Talbot over the shoulder on the short side. It was another finish from a player who has quickly found his legs after a slower opening stretch.
“I’m just playing games and feeling good,” Kaprizov said. “The first couple were a little tough. I didn’t feel the power right away, but after two, three or four games, I started feeling better.”
- Kaprizov has points in six straight games, producing seven goals and five assists for 12 points over that run.
- His 10 goals in nine games make him the fastest Wild player ever to reach 10 in a season, surpassing Brian Rolston’s 12-game pace from 2006-07.
- He became the sixth active NHL player to score 10 goals within his first nine games of a season, joining Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, David Pastrnak, Nikita Kucherov and Sidney Crosby.
- Kaprizov’s winner was the 78th game-winning goal on which he has recorded a point, moving him beyond Marian Gaborik for third in Wild history. Mikko Koivu has 122 and Zach Parise has 86.
- He has scored in four consecutive games against Columbus.
Joel Eriksson Ek picked up the 200th assist of his NHL career on the decisive goal.
Wild control the shot battle
Minnesota’s structure gave rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt a manageable afternoon. Wallstedt stopped 13 shots for his sixth win of the season, and the Wild limited Columbus to 14 shots on goal — tied for the second-fewest allowed in one game in franchise history. Minnesota held Anaheim to 13 shots on Jan. 18, 2003.
“It felt like we had control of a lot of the game,” Wallstedt said. “They were on a back-to-back and had played well the night before, so we knew we had to be ready early. When they pushed, we stayed strong and got another zero.”
The Wild have won four of their last five outings. Matt Boldy led all skaters with six shots, bringing his season total to 41, second-most in the League.
Yurov opens it, Fantilli answers late in the first
Danila Yurov put Minnesota ahead with 1:48 remaining in the opening period. Yakov Trenin fed Yurov on an odd-man rush, and the young forward converted with a wrist shot for his fourth goal in nine games.
Wild coach John Hynes pointed to the growth in Yurov’s all-around game.
“He is going to be a top-two-line center with the way he processes and sees the game,” Hynes said. “Now we are seeing the skating, confidence and offensive instincts along with his hockey sense and his excellent work without the puck.”
Columbus responded exactly one minute later. With a delayed Minnesota penalty pending and Talbot on the bench for an extra attacker, Adam Fantilli fired from the top of the left circle to tie the score at 19:12.
- Yurov’s first-period marker gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
- Fantilli’s six-on-five goal briefly pulled Columbus even before the intermission.
- Talbot made 32 saves despite taking the loss.
- The Blue Jackets fell to 3-4-0 and have dropped three of four games.
Columbus rues missed execution
Columbus competed hard but could not establish sustained offensive possessions or generate enough attempts against Minnesota’s defense.
“The effort was there, absolutely,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “We worked hard, but the execution was not there. We could not get any real flow, and that was the biggest disappointment. Still, I thought we battled.”
Fantilli echoed that assessment, noting that Columbus often put pucks into teammates’ skates and forced difficult plays rather than helping each other create cleaner exits and entries.
“We worked extremely hard, but we could have worked smarter,” Fantilli said. “We did not get enough shots. Talbs stood on his head and gave us a chance.”
Minnesota’s special teams continue to be a major early-season weapon. The Wild have scored on the power play in eight of nine games, going 9-for-28 for a 32.1 percent rate that ranks second in the NHL.
