The Wild are rolling behind their star, Kirill Kaprizov. Whether it will be enough to propel the Wild to their fourth straight postseason appearance remains to be seen.
Truth be told, it’s a long shot. The Wild entered Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes at Xcel Energy Center 10th in the Western Conference and six points out of the last wild card spot with 16 regular-season games remaining. But as long as Minnesota continues to play this well, it’s a legitimate shot.
Kaprizov had a goal and assist, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of 22 shots as Minnesota edged Arizona, 4-1, in a tight contest in St. Paul.
The Wild improved to 11-4-2 since returning from the all-star break and pulled within four of a playoff spot pending the Vegas Golden Knights’ late game at Seattle. During that stretch, Kaprizov has 14 goals and 28 points in 17 games and now leads the Wild with 33 goals and 73 points.
Kaprizov gave the Wild a 1-0 lead in the first period and sealed it with an empty netter with 2:32 remaining. Ryan Hartman broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal late in the second period, and Marcus Foligno added a second empty-netter as the Wild won for the fourth time in five games (4-0-1).
Nick Bjugstad scored for Arizona, and Karel Vejmalek stopped 27 shots for the Coyotes, who lost for the 18th time in 21 games (3-16-2).
The Wild did take a loss on Tuesday, however. Joel Eriksson Ek, one third of a top line that has been leading this late charge, left the ice after a collision early in the third period and never returned. Eriksson Ek is second to Kaprizov in goals (29) and points (60).
The Wild were jumping from the opening drop, setting up in the Coyotes’ zone and manufacturing a large handful of scoring chances. Few of them, however, actually resulted with a puck that had to be stopped by Vejmelka.
Kaprizov finally found the net when he walked a puck from the point into the left circle and crafted a wrist shot that snaked through traffic and into the far corner to make it 1-0 at 6:29. That was it for scoring, and the teams finished the period with only five shots on goal apiece.
The teams played at a frenetic pace in the second period, and Arizona struck first when Nick Bjugstad skated the puck through the right circle and got just far enough past defender Jonas Brodin to send a quick shot on net that beat Fleury cleanly and tied the game 1-1 at 8:08.
It stayed that way until Marco Rossi raced into the left corner of the Coyotes’ zone for a puck and was crosschecked into the boards by defenseman Michael Kesselring with 3:20 left in the second period. On the ensuing power play, Freddy Gaudreau fought for possession in the circle and sent the puck forward to Kaprizov, who centered a pass that Hartman one-timed past Vejmelka for the tie-breaking goal at 1:44.
Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman, center, is congratulated for his goal against the Arizona Coyotes during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
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