Wild Win 4-1 Over Sharks To Seize Sole Lead In West
Kirill Kaprizov scored his 16th goal of the season as Minnesota extended its points streak to seven games, moving ahead of San Jose in the Western Conference standings.
By Diego Mendoza ·
Minnesota fans at Grand Casino Arena got a new reason to celebrate on Friday night when the Wild defeated the San Jose Sharks, 4-1. The victory gave the Wild sole possession of first place in the Western Conference and extended their points streak to seven games.
Kirill Kaprizov led the offense with his NHL-leading 16th goal of the season. He scored 28 seconds into a 5-on-3 power play, one-timing a cross-pass from Quinn Hughes to beat goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. The goal gave the Wild a 1-0 lead with 7:55 left in the first period.
The Sharks, who came in with a 3-6-1 record over their last ten games, fought back. Macklin Celebrini tied the score at 1-1 with 12:17 left in the second period. He won a faceoff, went to the net front, and deflected a shot from Dmitry Orlov over the right shoulder of Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt.
Minnesota regained the lead less than a minute later. Jacob Trouba of San Jose was called for interference after throwing Matt Boldy into the ice. Kaprizov then set up Maxim Shabanov, who lunged to poke the puck past Askarov for a 2-1 lead at 14:15 of the second period.
Quinn Hughes added a goal in the third period to make it 3-1. He skated free above the left circle and fired a wrist shot into the far top corner. Zach Bogosian finished the scoring after corralling a rebound on the right boards and directing the puck into the high far post.
Wallstedt made 28 saves for the Wild, including a stop with his left skate that drew chants from the crowd. The Sharks had called a players-only meeting on Wednesday after a 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, but the adjustment was not enough to stop the streak. The Wild will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The result marks a shift in the standings for the two teams. The Wild improved to a 6-0-1 record over their last seven games, while the Sharks dropped to their sixth loss in seven contests.
