Why Kirill Kaprizov is scoring so many empty-netters, Filip Gustavsson update and more: Wild notes

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ST. PAUL, Minn. – Kirill Kaprizov entered Monday’s NHL action tied with Leon Draisaitl for the NHL goal-scoring lead with 22. But lately, some fans on social media have accused the Minnesota Wild of trying to “pad his stats” in empty-net situations.

Kaprizov leads the league with six empty-net goals, while Draisaitl has none. Over the past two years, Kaprizov is tied for first with Nikita Kucherov and Blake Coleman with nine.

But trust John Hynes, he’s not doing it to pad Kaprizov’s stats.

He’s doing it to ice victories — six out of 20, in fact.

Unlike many Wild players who aim for that empty net and end up icing the puck, Kaprizov usually doesn’t miss. He’s also not cherry-picking for goals. In one recent win, he got the puck in the corner of the defensive zone and pinned it there to eat the remaining seconds of the game.

“The more you get to know a player, you understand how he plays,” Hynes said recently. “Sometimes you can come in and you think Kirill’s just an offensive guy, but he’s a responsible player. He cares about defending. He shows five-on-five that he’s committed in those areas.

“Lots of times you want to try to be able to use guys like him in those situations because their care level is high and they show you throughout the way that they play the game regularly that their attention to detail is strong. (Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek), these guys are elite players that I think their instincts, their smarts, their ability to win battles in those situations, usually that’s an occurrence that they can come through.”

Hynes says it’s similar to the evolution of star players like Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel, Chris Kreider playing on the penalty kill.

Asked then if we could soon see Kaprizov on the penalty kill, Hynes joked that assistant coaches Pat Dwyer and Jack Capuano “are trying to get him on there.”

Hynes says the simple reality is it’s often an automatic goal when Kaprizov gets the puck on a five-on-six.

“High-end offensive guys, I think they know sometimes the tendencies of what’s the next play going to be,” he said. “That’s why I think sometimes they’re good on the penalty kill as well, because they know when the puck comes in and say a guy’s coming down, they know where the flank’s going to be. Sometimes their instincts and their abilities and their hockey smarts come through in defensive situations.”

Foligno on fighting after puck to the head

Marcus Foligno believes in the code even if he’s aching and even if he feels he did nothing out of line.

After Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Vegas, Foligno was asked why he’d fight Keegan Kolesar just three shifts after returning to the game after taking Ben Jones’ shot to the noggin.

“They thought that I might have done something to (Ivan) Barbashev there off the draw, which was interference on his part,” Foligno said. “It was just one of those things — you’re fighting through a check and get tangled up and he lands on his back. So, hope he’s OK, but at the same time, Keegan’s a good player in this league, and sometimes you’ve got to answer the bell for those little gray areas.

“So it’s all good. I know I can handle myself in those situations.”

Barbashev was injured on the play and didn’t return to the game. Kolesar told Golden Knights Radio that he, “Didn’t like the play that occurred on it, so just took matters into my own hands and respect to him for accepting the challenge.”

Foligno had an imprint of a puck on his forehead after the game and needed Steri-Strips to close the cut.

“Jonesy has a heck of a shot,” Foligno joked. “So I just wanted to see how it feels.”

Dermott’s debut

He only played 10 shifts, but for a guy who hadn’t played in nearly a month, Travis Dermott looked quite good acting as the Wild’s seventh defenseman against Vegas.

Thursday night, he watched the Oilers demolish the Wild from inside Xcel Energy Center, then flew back to Edmonton with the team only to have to repack, say goodbye to his wife and kids and immediately return to Minnesota.

“Quick turnaround,” Dermott said. “I think that might be better for me. You don’t overthink anything, you just kind of put your stuff on and play. Everyone here has been super accommodating … making sure I’m feeling part of the family. It took me maybe a period to get my feet under me and really feel comfortable out there. I felt like joining in the systems was easier than I thought it would be.”

Dermott said it would have been nice if the Oilers just left him in Minnesota, but they obviously didn’t know which team — if any — would claim Dermott off waivers. The Wild were 31st on the waiver priority list Friday.

“The first (period) felt like I was gripping my stick a little tight, but as the game went along, you kind of sink into your natural activities,” he said. “I’ve been playing hockey my whole life, so I think it comes back to you quick, and it helps even more that these guys are so accommodating.”

Dermott played just 10 games in Edmonton, and to be blunt, unless there’s another injury or Hynes decides to give Jon Merrill an occasional game off, he may end up being an in-and-out guy in Minnesota.

Of the opportunity with the Wild, Dermott said, “You don’t try to think about those things too much. Tough we lost some guys to injury, but I guess that kind of opens up some chances for other guys, so I’m happy to swoop in, help out where I can, and their decisions will be their decisions going forward. All I can do is go and play hockey.”

Penalty kill woes

It’s remarkable how hideous the Wild’s penalty kill continues to be.

The team has allowed six power-play goals in the past five games and 12 in the past 12 and ranks 30th in the NHL at 70.7 percent.

One big reason? The inability to win a faceoff. Victor Olofsson’s power-play goal Sunday came seven seconds after Marat Khusnutdinov lost a draw after Khusnutdinov and Brock Faber couldn’t win a 50-50 puck in the circle.

The Wild have won just 38.6 percent of faceoffs while shorthanded this season.

“I don’t think we’ve won one in two games,” Hynes said. “So, it’s an issue.”

Gustavsson update

Jesper Wallstedt made his first start of the season Sunday night because of a lower-body issue with Filip Gustavsson.

Gustavsson was examined by doctors Sunday and Hynes believes it’s minor. Asked after Sunday’s game if Gustavsson could start Wednesday, he said, “I don’t wanna go that far. You gotta see some things over the next day or so, where he’s at. And then we’ll probably know more on Tuesday.”

It continues the trend. It feels like every day for the last month, the Wild are dealing with a new injury to a new player.

“And give credit to the guys that are coming in and filling spots, but, yeah, you’d like to see a full squad,” Foligno said. “But it’s just the way it goes, man. It’s just bumps and bruises and the way we play. We play a hard game. And you gotta sacrifice. And there are gonna broken bones, there’s gonna be stuff like that. But you hope, come April, we’ve got a full lineup that can go a long way.”

Roster updates

Off until Wednesday’s game against Florida, the Wild reassigned Reese Johnson to AHL Iowa. Depending on Yakov Trenin’s status for Wednesday, the Wild may have to recall him again or another forward. Trenin has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury.

Also, with Friday’s roster freeze coming, Devin Shore was placed on waivers. If he clears Tuesday at 1 p.m. CT, the Wild would likely reassign him to Iowa after Wednesday’s game and recall him again Friday. This will allow him to be reassigned to Iowa during the Dec. 24 to 26 break so the Wild can save three days of cap space.

This also restarts Shore’s waiver clock, meaning he won’t need waivers again until he plays 10 more cumulative games or spends 30 more cumulative days on the roster. He’s still able to practice with the Wild on Tuesday even though he’s on waivers and available to be claimed by 31 other teams.

Essentially, waiver-eligible players can only be reassigned during the Dec. 19 to 28 roster freeze if they clear waivers and are recalled by Friday. The Wild could conceivably do the same thing with Jones later this week if they want to save three days of cap space on him, too, during the holiday hiatus.

(Top photo: Nick Wosika / USA Today)





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About The Author

Fannie Hogan is a writer and editor who covers lifestyle, books, sports, education, and tech. She's always loved to write—from the time she was a little girl writing stories about talking animals to the day she got her first job as an editor at a lifestyle magazine. Her hobbies include long walks on the beach, running, and taking breaks from work to read a good book.

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