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Is Wild star Kirill Kaprizov having fun yet?

John Shipley, Pioneer Press
·4 min read

Just as the Wild aren’t ready to declare their troubles over after ending a seven-game losing streak with a pair of impressive victories, Kirill Kaprizov isn’t prepared to say he’s back his old self.

It’s not that Kaprizov hasn’t been engaged all season; he had 16 points in the first 17 games. It was more that he looked a little lost on the ice, never quite sure what his next move should be — a far cry from the young man who set franchise records with 47 goals and 108 points in 2021-22, his first full NHL season.

“There needs to be a little bit more fun — in my eyes,” he said after returning from the Wild’s NHL Global Series games in Sweden last month. “Just have fun, play loose.”

If he does that, he said, “the goals will come.”

Well, are we having fun yet?

“Yeah, I think so, the last couple of games,” Kaprizov said after recording a goal and assist in the Wild’s convincing 6-1 victory over the Predators Thursday night in Nashville. “A little bit better, yeah. Making more plays, better skating, better at battling, I think. So, yeah.”

Since general manager Bill Guerin fired head coach Dean Evason on Monday and replaced him with John Hynes, the Wild have won two straight games, one of them an impressive victory over St. Louis at Xcel Energy Center, the other a dominant win on Thursday in Nashville.

Kaprizov had a goal and assist Thursday, and just generally looked more like the assertive force he has been since arriving from Russia before the abbreviated 2020-21 COVID-19 season.

“I’m very impressed with Kirill,” Hynes said after the game. “Coaching against him, you know the talent and the skill, and as an opposing coach, when he comes over the boards, you know something’s going to happen.

“But for me, it (has been) just his love of the game, his competitive spirit, his fitness level, the way he practices. He’s a superstar with a huge engine. He’s been very impressive.”

On Thursday, Kaprizov scored a power-play goal on a one-timer from the circle on a pass from Mats Zuccarello to give the Wild a 3-0 first-period lead, then set up Connor Dewar for a breakaway goal that put the Wild up 5-0 in the second period. He won a big battle on the boards to get the puck into the offensive zone on Dewar’s goal — the center’s second of three in the game — and earlier was called for interference after finishing a hard check on Alexandre Carrier.

The hit angered Nashville coach Andrew Brunette, but as of Friday afternoon there had been no disciplinary meeting set up with the NHL.

Kaprizov has two goals and five points in his past four games, two under Evason, two under Hynes, who has made some noticeable changes aimed at enabling the Wild to play faster. So far, they have worked.

In two games under Hynes, the Wild have sent a combined 64 shots on goal and outscored their opponents 9-2. Kaprizov’s first impression of Hynes, who on Thursday beat the team that fired him after last season, has been a good one.

“I’m getting to know him and we’re trying to figure each other out, what he expects from us as players,” he said. “Overall, it’s going really well.”

Asked Thursday night about the midseason coaching change, a first for Kaprizov here or in the KHL, he said through an interpreter, “It’s difficult, but something needed to change, and obviously that change has now happened.”

The Wild had a day off Friday and are scheduled to practice on Saturday morning. They play host to Chicago on Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center before leaving Monday on a four-game trip through Western Canada and ending in Seattle.

The Wild’s seven victories are still second-worst in the NHL, ahead of only San Jose’s five, but they have won two in a row for just the second time this season.

“The team has obviously played well, you can see that, ” Kaprizov said. “There are some things the coach came in with, some things we changed as a team. You want the success to continue, and that’s what we continue to hope for.”

Hynes said he has been pleased, but not surprised, by how quickly the Wild have acclimated to him.

“But the thing that impressed me the most is just how tight they are as a group,” he said. “They’re happy for each other. They want to see each other succeed when guys have good plays and guys do things. I think that helps.”

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