Kirill Kaprizov joined some elite company on Sunday with his goal that helped the Minnesota Wild edge the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in St. Paul, Minn.
Kaprizov continued to live up to his eight-year, $136 million contract by scoring a power-play goal in the second period that broke a 1-1 tie. The Russian winger has a goal in three straight games and points in six straight.
He also leads the league with 10 goals and joined Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, David Pastrnak, Nikita Kucherov and Sidney Crosby as the only active players to hit the 10-goal mark in nine or fewer games.
Danila Yurov notched his fourth goal for the Wild, who have won four of their last five. Yakov Trenin, Maxim Shabanov and Joel Eriksson Ek added assists in the victory.
Jesper Wallstedt had to stop only 13 shots to record his fourth straight win.
Adam Fantilli scored his second goal of the season for Columbus, with Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan assisting.
Cam Talbot made 32 saves. He was tested early as Minnesota put eight shots on him in the first 7:08. He stopped them all. That included three during a 5-on-3 that lasted for 1:52 in the first four minutes.
Still, the Wild managed to score first when Trenin captured a loose puck in the neutral zone, leading to a 2-on-1. Yurov beat Talbot after collecting a Trenin crossing pass with 1:48 remaining in the opening period.
That lead just lasted a minute as the Blue Jackets took advantage of a delayed penalty. Fantilli came on as the extra attacker and scored from just beyond the right faceoff circle.
Minnesota entered Sunday with the league’s second-best power-play unit at 33.3% (8-for-24). The Wild went 1-for-4 on Sunday, with Kaprizov scoring his third of the season on the man advantage with 16:54 left in the second, beating Talbot on the short side from the right circle.
The Blue Jackets, playing their second game in less than 24 hours, were held to a season-low 14 shots.
Minnesota, which has won its first four home games for the first time since 2016, limited Columbus to just seven in the last two periods.
–Field Level Media
