Kirill Kaprizov scored a power-play goal 3:06 into the second period to give the Minnesota Wild a lead they would not relinquish, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Sunday at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul. The goal was Kaprizov’s league-leading 10th of the season and extended his point streak to six games.
Danila Yurov opened the scoring for Minnesota late in the first period, and Adam Fantilli answered less than a minute later to tie it for Columbus. Jesper Wallstedt made 13 saves to hold the lead the rest of the way, while Cam Talbot stopped 32 of 34 shots in a losing effort for the Blue Jackets.
Key Moments: How The Wild Won
Yurov put Minnesota ahead 1-0 at 18:12 of the first period, finishing a wrist shot off an odd-man rush with an assist from Yakov Trenin. Columbus answered almost immediately. Fantilli tied the game 1-1 just 60 seconds later, beating Wallstedt from the top of the right circle on a delayed penalty against the Wild, with assists from Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan.
The deciding goal came early in the second period. On a power play, Kaprizov took a pass from Maxim Shabanov and Joel Eriksson Ek and beat Talbot short side from low in the left circle, making it 2-1 at the 3:06 mark. Minnesota finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while Columbus went scoreless on two chances.
Top Performers
Kaprizov finished with a goal in 22:32 of ice time and now has 12 points on the season, seven goals and five assists, over his six-game point streak. Yurov scored the other Wild goal, and Trenin and Eriksson Ek each picked up an assist.
Wallstedt made 13 saves for a .929 save percentage in the Minnesota net. For Columbus, Fantilli had the lone goal and led his team with eight faceoff wins, while Talbot kept the Blue Jackets within one goal by stopping 32 shots on 34 attempts, a .941 save percentage. Minnesota outshot Columbus 34-14 for the game.
What It Means
The win pushed the Wild to 6-2-1 and kept them unbeaten at home through four games this season, their fourth victory in five outings. Minnesota sits atop the Central Division standings with 13 points. Columbus fell to 3-4-0 with its third loss in four games and sits seventh in the Metropolitan Division with six points.
Kaprizov’s 10th goal came in his team’s ninth game, making him the sixth active player to reach double-digit goals in nine games or fewer in a season. He joins Auston Matthews, who did it in six games in 2018-19, Alex Ovechkin in eight games in 2017-18, David Pastrnak in nine games twice, Nikita Kucherov in nine games in 2017-18 and Sidney Crosby in nine games in 2016-17, according to NHL.com.
What’s Next
Minnesota leads the early season series with Columbus 1-0.
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