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Wild without Kirill Kaprizov, supplemental discipline seems unlikely

john shipley, pioneer press
·4 min read

Kirill Kaprizov, who left Saturday’s game in Winnipeg after taking a couple of cross checks to the kidneys from Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon, was scratched from Sunday’s rematch at Xcel Energy Center.

So was goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who was injured in the second period and replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury in the third period of a 4-2 loss at Canada Life Centre.

After Sunday’s 3-2 home loss to Winnipeg, Wild coach John Hynes said he had no updates on either player, both of whom were still being evaluated. Asked before the game if he was concerned the injuries might be long term, he said, “It’s obviously always a concern, with both guys, because they’re not in condition to play today.”

“But,” he added, “I don’t really want to speculate on it because I think it’s important that they get evaluated properly. It could be something minor, it could be something a little bit more than that.”

Fleury started Sunday, the veteran’s 1,000th NHL game, and Nic Petan played left wing on the second line. Goaltender Zane McIntyre, also recalled Sunday, was the backup.

“I hope everything goes well and quickly for him. Gus is a huge part of our team and a good buddy,” Fleury said of Gustavsson. “I guess that’s why there’s two goalies.”

Heading into Sunday’s game, Fleury was 3-1-0 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in his previous four starts. Against the Jets on Sunday, he stopped 26 of 29 shots, and each of their third-period goals were on power plays.

“Things have been going better, I think, lately,” Fleury said. “I think the team’s been playing good, too. We just need to keep building one day at a time, one practice, one game at a time.”

Kaprizov, the Wild’s points leader with 13 goals and 34 points, left after being hit in the lower back with Dillon’s stick. After the second hit, he leaned back in obvious pain, and appeared compromised when he rejoined the play. There was no penalty called, and Hynes said he wasn’t given any clarification, “Other than it was obviously a missed call,” he said.

Dillon was in the lineup Sunday, and there was no word from the NHL about league discipline — which likely means there isn’t any. Asked if the NHL was reviewing the play, Hynes said he and general manager Bill Guerin talked about the possibility on Saturday night but the two hadn’t connected on Sunday morning.

Reached by text, Guerin said he couldn’t comment on league issues.

Last March, Kaprizov missed a month after Logan Stanley dog-piled him into the ice in Winnipeg. The Jets defenseman received a 2-minute minor but no supplemental discipline.

Jonas Brodin, one of the Wild’s top two defensemen, hasn’t played since Dec. 8, and is on long-term injured reserve, because of a reckless hit by Edmonton’s Evander Kane. Kane wasn’t penalized on the ice, or by the NHL.

“From an organization standpoint, I think (Guerin) does a good job — all the general managers that I’ve worked with. It’s their team,” Hynes said. “They care about the players. They always talk to the league, but the league has protocol and decisions that they make, and I think your job as an organization and as a general manager is to be able to stick up for your players and make sure that you’re trying to do right by it, but at the end of the day the league makes the final ruling.”

Eight-point series?

This weekend’s home-and-home games against the Jets were the first between the Wild and their Central Division rival, and the consecutive losses were something of a missed opportunity for a Minnesota team trying to pull itself out a deep hole in the playoff race.

But it’s no time to focus on the standings, veteran forward Ryan Hartman said.

“Any game you lose is a missed opportunity, especially if you start the season the way we did,” he said. “There’s no reason to even look at what (other teams) are doing because we just have to win hockey games. That’s the only way. Does it help if teams ahead of us lose? Yeah, but it doesn’t help if we lose.”

The Wild took two one-goal leads on Sunday, and Hartman had a goal called back for offsides, but Winnipeg scored two third-period goals to go ahead and then held off a six-on-five challenge over the last 1:48.

“We just need to focus on ourselves, win hockey games,” Hartman said. “I think if we focus on that, keep chugging away like we have been, maybe we look at ourselves after the all-star break and maybe see where we are after that.”

Briefly

Vinni Lettieri missed Sunday’s game with a lower-body injury and was replaced on the Wild’s fourth line by Jake Lucchini. Hynes said Lettieri is day to day.

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