Kirill Kaprizov Is Grabbing the Torch As the NHL’s Best Winger – Minnesota Wild

We wrote about Kirill Kaprizov’s incredible start on Thursday. Still, when a player goes out and drops a three-point night to extend their multi-point game streak to seven… what else can you do but marvel about him all over again?

Kaprizov is refusing to slow down, adding two goals and an assist in the Minnesota Wild’s 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The effort bumped Kaprizov back into the NHL lead in points (21), extended his multi-point game streak to seven, and gave Minnesota their sixth win in the past seven games.

We have to add an addendum to Thursday’s piece concerning Kaprizov’s start: “Dolla Bill Kirill” is tied with Leon Draisaitl (2021-22) and Thomas Vanek (2013-14) for the fourth-most points through 10 games in the Salary Cap Era. Only Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have had more. Look further down the list, and you’ll see titans of the game like Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby looking up at Kaprizov.

That boggles the mind, and Kaprizov’s hot start registers as incredible, even for someone who has spent years watching Malkin and Crosby night in and night out.

“I think it just proves how good he is, how special he is,” Bill Guerin marveled to Hockey Wilderness following Kaprizov’s three-point outing. “You don’t just do that by accident, either. You see good players get off to strong starts and things like that, but… 10 games, that’s a good-sized segment. So have that, not just consistency, but high-level and produce like that is amazing.”

No one could ever accuse Kaprizov of flying under the radar. People have considered him among the NHL’s most dynamic wingers since entering the league. Still, he seems to be garnering a new level of attention league-wide this season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman pinpointed him as a Hart Trophy contender two weeks ago. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn and Sean Gentille recently floated a trial balloon take that Kaprizov may have surpassed last season’s Hart runner-up Nikita Kucherov as the league’s best winger.

And why not? It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that Kaprizov’s two-goal, one-assist game on Friday is an identical stat line to his October 24 showing at Tampa Bay. In head-to-heads, Kaprizov has a 6-2 point advantage over his countryman Kucherov.

If we want to keep comparing the two superstar Russians, we can point out that Kaprizov’s seventh-straight multi-point game matches Kucherov’s career-high streak. The two are tied for the fourth-longest such streak of the Salary Cap Era. Stamkos, McDavid, and Vincent Lecavalier are the only players who can claim a longer one… and if Kaprizov extends his to eight games on Sunday night, that list of players goes down to one. 

Kaprizov’s six power-play points tied him for seventh in the NHL, and he’s been even better at 5-on-5 play. His 12 points at 5-on-5 sit on top of the NHL (along with Sam Reinhart), and it’s gone a long way to his 14-4 scoring advantage over his opponents when he’s on the ice. Only Reinhart is enjoying a higher 5-on-5 goal differential than Kaprizov’s plus-10. 

At this point, what else can you say? Wild fans are watching the best player in franchise history at the height of his powers, and he’s putting the rest of the hockey world on notice. It’s been a treat to watch, and while 10 games is a good chunk of the season, we’ve got a lot of time left for Kaprizov to amaze us even more.

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