Wild's 7-game points streak extends to 6-0-1 in 4-1 win
Kirill Kaprizov scored his 16th goal of the season to help the Minnesota Wild take sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.
By Nadia Khalil ·
Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov scored his 16th goal of the season, giving the team a 1-0 lead in the first period before the Wild defeated the San Jose Sharks, 4-1, on Friday at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
The victory extended the Wild's points streak to seven games. The team is now 6-0-1 in that span and holds sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.
Kaprizov scored 28 seconds after drawing a tripping penalty. He one-timed a cross-pass from Quinn Hughes past goaltender Yaroslav Askarov with 7 minutes and 55 seconds remaining in the first period.
Maxim Shabanov added a goal in the second period. He poked the puck past Askarov 48 seconds after San Jose's Jacob Trouba was called for interference. The goal gave the Wild a 2-1 lead.
Macklin Celebrini scored for San Jose at 12:17 of the second period. He won a faceoff and deflected a shot from the point by Dmitry Orlov over the shoulder of goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to tie the game.
Quinn Hughes scored the game's third goal in the third period. He skated free from Celebrini in the high slot and fired a wrist shot into the far top corner at 6:55.
Zach Bogosian scored the final goal by coralling a rebound on the right boards and throwing the puck toward the net. The shot hit the high far post and clanked in to make the score 4-1.
Wallstedt finished with 28 saves. He stopped a goal with his left skate during a San Jose rush midway through the third period, prompting the crowd to chant his name.
The Sharks entered the game after a 3-6-1 stretch that included a 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The team held a players-only meeting at Crypto.com Arena to address its play.
The Wild will play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at Grand Casino Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
