Kaprizov, Hughes help Wild storm past Bruins

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Kirill Kaprizov scored twice, and Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist for the Minnesota Wild, who scored four straight to defeat the Boston Bruins 4-1 at Grand Casino Arena on Saturday.

Jared Spurgeon also scored, and Jesper Wallstedt made 26 saves for the Wild (2-0-0) in their home opener. 

“We got scored on early. We didn’t really have a ton going on in the first period, but we stayed with it,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “Then we came out in the second and played a little bit better and figured out how we could get a little bit more going, and the guys went out and executed really well.”

Tanner Jeannot scored, and Michael DiPietro made 26 saves for the Bruins (2-1-0) in his third NHL start and first since Jan. 23, 2022, with the Vancouver Canucks. 

“He was great,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said of DiPietro. “I wish we could have given him at least a point, but he was outstanding.” 

Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves Friday in the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime win at the Winnipeg Jets. DiPietro said that although getting the start Saturday felt great, it was obviously not the result he or his team wanted. 

“I own that,” DiPietro said. “Never like giving up the first loss for the team of the season. Obviously, I’m going to wear it. Just want to improve, get better for them and hopefully be better next time.” 

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead 1:53 into the first period when Jeannot scored from low in the left face-off circle.

Kaprizov tied it 1-1 at 6:11 of the second period with a power-play goal, scoring in front with a one-timer off a short feed from Maxim Shabanov, who earned his first assist and point with the Wild.

“He played a really good two games,” Kaprizov said of the forward, who signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with Minnesota on July 2 after playing 44 games as a rookie with the New York Islanders last season. “He hit post again today, but I think next game he should score. Yeah, he’s good.” 

Later in the period, the Wild had 1:52 of 5-on-3 power-play time. With one second remaining on the second minor, Hughes shot through traffic to give them a 2-1 lead at 12:28.

“Want more out of the 5-on-3, but I think (we) had some decent looks there,” Hughes said.

The Wild went 2-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. 

“I feel like we just had good pressure constantly on them,” Wallstedt said. “I feel like we forced their mistakes, or we forced them to make good plays to hopefully spots where we kind of know where they’re going, so we can pressure on that.”

Spurgeon pushed the lead to 3-1 at 3:24 of the third period with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle on the rush, and Kaprizov added an empty-net goal with 1:01 remaining for the 4-1 final.

Wallstedt credited Minnesota for finishing strong despite being outshot 13-9 in the third. 

“I thought we were great in the second, and then obviously, when we go up two (early in the third), they’re going to make a push for it,” Wallstedt said. “I thought we still did a good job.” 

NOTES: Hughes assisted on Spurgeon’s goal for his 50th assist in his 50th game with Minnesota, becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach that mark. … Kaprizov extended his goal streak against the Bruins to five games dating to the 2023-24 season. He has 478 points (233 goals, 245 assists) in 399 NHL games. Only four active players have had at least that many points prior to their 400th game: Connor McDavid (553), Sidney Crosby (552), Alex Ovechkin (534) and Evgeni Malkin (480). … Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy served the third of his six-game suspension for slashing Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson during Game 6 of the 2026 Eastern Conference First Round.