Kaprizov scores again, adds three assists in Wild win against Sharks

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Kirill Kaprizov scored a goal and had three assists for the Minnesota Wild in a 4-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at Grand Casino Arena on Friday.

Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists, and Jesper Wallstedt made 23 saves for the Wild (12-3-3), who have won three in a row and are 6-0-1 in their past seven games.

"Can't say it enough, I just feel like we can tilt the ice when they're out there," Hughes said about the top line of Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek. "There have been games where I feel like we've completely dominated. Today, I feel like we had two or three shifts where we dominated.

"It's been good. I think it's helping us win games, and I think the coaches have done an unreal job getting us out there."

Macklin Celebrini scored, and Yaroslav Askarov made 25 saves for the Sharks (7-10-1), who have lost four in a row and six of seven.

The loss also came two days after San Jose held a players-only meeting following a 7-2 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.

“I thought we worked harder,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I thought we got above quicker, we reloaded quicker without the puck. It was a pretty even game up until that point."

Kaprizov put the Wild up 1-0 during a 5-on-3 power play at 7:55 of the first period. He scored five-hole with a one-timer from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Hughes for his League-leading 16th goal of the season.

"We just try to play smart," Kaprizov said of his line. "Sometimes we go D-zone, too, and just try to put puck in offensive zone and just play smart and play good in the line."

Celebrini tied the game 1-1 at 12:11 of the second period when he redirected Dmitry Orlov’s shot above the blocker of Wallstedt.

Maxim Shabanov responded with another power-play goal to put the Wild back in front 2-1 at 14:15. He positioned himself down near the left post and tapped in a backdoor pass from Kaprizov.

"I thought San Jose came out hard," Minnesota coach John Hynes said. "I talked with our guys about playing to our standard regardless of who we play, and I really like the mindset that we played with tonight. I thought that we played with the right intentions."

Hughes extended the lead to 3-1 at 6:54 of the third period. He shook off Celebrini in the right circle, skated above the left circle, and roofed a wrist shot past the blocker of Askarov.

“He’s one of the best defensemen in the League,” Warsofsky said. “Kirill is one of the most elite offensive players in the League. Those guys (the Wild's top line) have played together for numerous years now, and they feel like they have great chemistry. They can make things happen."

Zach Bogosian made it 4-1 with his first goal of the season at 13:58. He skated into a rebound along the right boards and ripped a slap shot that found the far corner of the net.

“It was a good team win,” Bogosian said. “It's fun to score. We knew it was actually going to be a big challenge tonight. We knew it was a desperate team. We knew that they were going to come hard, and they did.”

NOTES: The Wild became the fastest franchise in NHL history to win 1,000 regular-season games (1,995 games). ... Hughes (525 games) became the fourth-fastest defenseman in NHL history to record 100 multiassist games, behind Bobby Orr (437), Paul Coffey (459) and Denis Potvin (511). ... The Wild are 10-1-1 when Kaprizov scores this season. ... Minnesota is 10-0-3 when scoring first this season. … Kaprizov (five goals, eight assists) and Hughes (four goals, eight assists) each extended his point streak to seven games. ... Wild forward Michael McCarron left the game in the third period with an undisclosed injury. Hynes said he’s questionable to play tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning.