Kaprizov Posts Four Points as Wild Beat Sharks

Kirill Kaprizov buried a 5-on-3 one-timer five-hole from the right circle, then kept dealing. He finished with a goal and three assists as the Minnesota Wild beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Friday at Grand Casino Arena, NHL.com and Field Level Media reported. The goal was his league-leading 16th.

Minnesota improved to 12-3-3, won its third straight, and is 6-0-1 in its last seven. The Wild also became the fastest franchise in NHL history to 1,000 regular-season wins, doing it in 1,995 games.

Kaprizov and Hughes Ran the Night

Quinn Hughes set up the opener and later made it 3-1 with a far-side wrist shot from above the left circle after shaking Macklin Celebrini. Hughes finished with a goal and two assists. Maxim Shabanov restored the lead at 2-1 when he tapped in a backdoor feed from Kaprizov on the power play, and Zach Bogosian ripped a slap shot for 4-1, his first goal of the season.

Jesper Wallstedt made 23 saves. Celebrini had tied the game 1-1 mid-second with a redirect of Dmitry Orlov’s shot, but San Jose (7-10-1) has now lost four straight and six of seven.

Seven-Game Point Streaks

Kaprizov (five goals, eight assists) and Hughes (four goals, eight assists) each extended point streaks to seven games. Minnesota is 10-1-1 when Kaprizov scores and 10-0-3 when it scores first this season. Coach John Hynes liked the standard after warning his group that a desperate Sharks team would come hard.

Forward Michael McCarron left in the third with an undisclosed injury and is questionable for Saturday against Tampa Bay.

San Jose had held a players-only meeting two nights earlier after a 7-2 loss in Los Angeles, and coach Ryan Warsofsky thought his group worked harder. Minnesota still tilted the ice when Kaprizov’s line hopped over the boards, and that was the difference in a game the Sharks needed.

Hughes reaching another multiassist night also pushed him into rare company among defensemen for career pace, and the Wild keep stacking those nights while the standings stay friendly.

Wild Host Lightning Saturday

Minnesota stays home against Tampa Bay on Saturday. The top line of Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Joel Eriksson Ek keeps tilting the ice, and Hughes is cashing in from the point.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Kirill Kaprizov points against Tampa Bay. He has 13 points across a seven-game streak and posted four Friday. If Minnesota manages his minutes after the back-to-back setup, pivot to Quinn Hughes assists, since Hughes had two helpers and a goal in the same game.