Kaprizov has two assists in return, Wild defeat Ducks

Kirill Kaprizov had two assists in his return for the Minnesota Wild, a 7-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday.

Kaprizov had not played since Jan. 6, when he sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins. He missed one game, a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 8.
"Couple cringes down in the corner," Wild coach Dean Evason said of Kaprizov's return. "He pulled up and spun back and got hit pretty hard by some big people, so, yeah, I don't think there was anything serious, he got out of it and continued to play. We're real happy with that for sure."
Mats Zuccarello had two goals and an assist, and Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota (22-10-2), which has won three in a row. Kaapo Kahkonen made 39 saves.
"I think we were playing really good the last three games," Zuccarello said. "Everyone was [mad]. We lost five in a row. So, you've got to get back and we got a huge win in Boston and we kind of got a huge win here against Washington as well and kept rolling. Today the puck bounces our way, we get some good goals, and it feels good when it's like that."
Max Comtois and Trevor Zegras each had a goal and an assist for Anaheim (19-14-7), which is 2-5-2 in its past nine games. Anthony Stolarz allowed six goals on 29 shots, and Lukas Dostal made 12 saves on 13 shots in relief.
"It's really hard to come back on these teams," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. "I don't think they're ever completely out of a game anymore, but you certainly don't want to play from behind.
"We can't give up seven goals and expect to win. ... We need to be more focused."
The Wild scored three goals in the opening 2:05 of the third period: Boldy scored off Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler at 30 seconds to make it 4-1; Zuccarello split Anaheim's defense off the center-ice face-off to make it 5-1 at 34 seconds; and Victor Rask made it 6-1 at 2:05.

The goals by Boldy and Zuccarello were the second-fastest in Wild history, and the fastest with a goalie in net for both. Jim Dowd and Richard Park hold the record, scoring three seconds apart Jan. 21, 2004, in a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Park scored into an empty net.
Kevin Fiala gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 7:25 of the first period, scoring off Boldy's first NHL assist. Hartman extended the lead to 2-0 at 8:52 by batting the puck from midair after a Zuccarello centering pass.
Comtois scored from the right circle at 11:39 to make it 2-1.
Kaprizov won a battle along the boards and fed Zuccarello a no-look pass for a one-timer to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead at 14:59.
"It's so nice to see 'Zuccy' shoot, right? Because he doesn't," Evason said. "He's got such a quick release … He's such a pass-first guy. Obviously, he sees the ice really well, but when he does that it'll open things up for not only him but for Kirill and 'Hartzy' too. Real nice goal."

Derek Grant redirected a pass from Jamie Drysdale to make it 6-2 at 4:39 of the third period, and Zegras tipped in a Fowler pass at 6:06 to cut it to 6-3.
Matt Dumba scored with a snap shot at 11:47 to make it 7-3.
"It's great," Dumba said. "Not all parts of our game were all that great tonight. But we definitely did execute. It's great to get the third (straight win)."
NOTES:Ducks forward Sonny Milano left at 7:24 of the first period with an upper-body injury. No update was provided. … Anaheim forward Troy Terry was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol. … Kaprizov has scored 10 points (four goals, six assists) during his five-game point streak. … Zuccarello has scored eight points (three goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak. … Hartman leads the Wild with 16 goals and is an NHL-best plus-29. …Wild forward Brandon Duhaime had two shots on goal and one hit in 10:53 of ice time, and forward Jordan Greenway had three hits in 13:24, after each missed two games in protocol. ... Ducks forward Sam Carrick had one shot on goal in 14:26 after missing four games in protocol.