Wild keep pace in West playoff race with OT win against Ducks

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Kirill Kaprizov scored 17 seconds into overtime, and the Minnesota Wild kept pace in the Honda West Division with a 4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Xcel Energy Center on Friday.

Kaprizov has scored four goals in a three-game goal streak, five goals and three assists during a five-game point streak, and 14 points (11 goals, three assists) in his past 11 games.
"He's a special player," Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek said. "Every time he gets the puck you can feel it in the arena. It's amazing the things he does. He's just creating all the time, and it doesn't really matter who's close to him. He can create a lot and he's been really good for us."

Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek each had a goal and an assist, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 22 saves for Minnesota (34-14-5), which has won three of four.
The Wild remained one point behind the second-place Colorado Avalanche in the West. The Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Friday. The first-place Vegas Golden Knights, Avalanche, Wild and St. Louis Blues qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the eight-team division.
"We didn't like our game at all," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "We knew that they were going to play hard and that they were going to be good.
"… But for us, the good part is, if there is a good part, they said all the good things on the bench. We asked them if they got tired of hearing themselves say 'Get it in deep and don't turn it over' because that's how we feel. Hopefully we got it out of our system and we can go forward tomorrow [in the second of the back-to-back set]."
Adam Henrique, who missed the past six games in NHL COVID-19 protocol, had a goal and an assist, and John Gibson made 32 saves for Anaheim (17-30-8), which is in last place in the West.
"I mean, the standings are the standings. I think it's just important to finish out the year strong," Henrique said. "With guys in and out of the lineup, everybody has to have the mindset to finish the year off strong. Whether that's for personal goals or whatever, I think it's important."

Max Comtois scored on a breakaway off a pass from Trevor Zegras to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 7:11 of the first period.
Victor Rask tied it 1-1 at 8:06 with a one-timer off a Kaprizov pass, and Nico Sturm made it 2-1 at 18:26, one-timing a backhand pass from Nick Bonino.
With his 22nd assist, Kaprizov passed Filip Kuba for most by a rookie in Wild history.
Henrique capitalized on a turnover by Rask near the goalmouth at 6:40 of the second period to tie it 2-2.
"I think it's just encouraging that this time of year, where we're at in the standings, I think the easy thing would be just to mail it in, and the guys aren't doing that," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. "They're playing hard for each other. It's fun to be in the game. It's disappointing giving up that extra point there tonight, but our guys stuck with the program certainly tonight."
Eriksson Ek scored on a rebound in the slot at 12:01 of the third period to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead. Henrique passed to Derek Grant short side for a one-timer to tie it 3-3 at 14:14.
"I mean, we've still got something to play for, right?" Sturm said. "… So as long as you've got something to play for, there's really no need to step off the gas. … But in terms of getting two points, we've got to do a better job tomorrow, play with some more intensity."
NOTES:Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf was a healthy scratch for what Eakins called a maintenance day but is expected to return to the lineup Saturday. … Ducks defenseman Josh Manson was plus-1 with two shots on goal playing 18:02 after missing seven games with an upper-body injury … Wild forward Kevin Fiala was minus-1 with three shots on goal after missing one game with a lower-body injury. … Minnesota forward Zach Parise was a healthy scratch for the second time this season (March 3), and third time in his NHL career. He has no points in his past nine games and is averaging 9:46 ice time in that span.