AP Photo/Abbie Parr
By DAVE CAMPBELL
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The roaring start for Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild in this first-round NHL playoff series has given way to struggling special teams.
If the Wild are going to snap back after two straight losses to the Dallas Stars, they need Kaprizov to find another gear.
After their 6-1 victory in Game 1, fueled by a goal and two assists from their star left wing, the Wild scored only five times in the next two games, with no goals and one assist for Kaprizov. Meanwhile, their power play has converted just one of 11 opportunities since producing two goals in the opener in Dallas.
Even if the lineup and strategy for that group is completely different than playing 5 on 5, there’s clearly carryover from man advantage to even strength the Wild have experienced in the last two games in unhelpful fashion.
“It’s easy to play after, you know, if you have some chance and you start feeling more. Then you keep going more,” Kaprizov said after practice on Friday. “We need to play better on power play.”
Getting his good friend Mats Zuccarello back would sure help.
The 38-year-old right wing has been held out of the last two games after taking an elbow to the head from Stars defenseman Tyler Myers. Wild coach John Hynes said Zuccarello’s status for Game 4 remains uncertain, to be decided soon before the puck drop on Saturday.
Zuccarello, who had three assists in Game 1, has long forged a unique chemistry on the first line with Kaprizov since they became teammates five seasons ago.
“But a lot of the times, even talking with Kirill, his style of game shouldn’t change, or it doesn’t need to change when he plays with Zuccy or not,” Hynes said.
Prolific scorers being quieted in a series by a tough and targeted opposing defense is part of the lore of the NHL postseason, of course. Connor McDavid didn’t have a point in the first two games that Edmonton split with Anaheim. Nathan MacKinnon has not scored yet, though Colorado has a 3-0 lead on Los Angeles.
The Avalanche actually have scored more short-handed (once) than with the man advantage (none) in nine power plays against the Kings.
“I’d like to see it sustained more. I’d like to see it get more dangerous,” coach Jared Bednar said. “The intensity of the penalty kills this time of the year is high. At some point, you’ve got to make a play and put one in the back of the net.”
Bednar wasn’t speaking for Hynes, his counterpart in the stacked Central Division, but he could’ve been. The Wild, for their part, weren’t having it in the aftermath of the double-overtime defeat in Game 3 when asked if their faith in the power play was flagging.
“This whole narrative that we’re frustrated and all this, that’s not true,” right wing Matt Boldy said. “We’re still confident in our group. Let’s nip that in the bud now because it’s made up.”
Getting a vintage performance from Kaprizov in Game 4, with or without Zuccarello, would go a long way toward putting that to rest.
“When Kirill is at his best, he’s playing a fast game. He’s skating, he’s moving his feet, he’s driving plays deep in the offensive zone and off the rush. He’s getting to the inside. He’s difficult to play against below the goal line,” Hynes said. “He’s a really threatening guy, and I think when he does that he’s a dynamite player, right?”
___
AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.
*Associated Press
Comments