Kaprizov scores twice, Brodin and Zuccarello return as Wild bounce back: 3 takeaways vs. Flyers

By / / Sports / 4 minutes of reading


ST. PAUL, Minn. — The one thing about the Minnesota Wild this season is no matter how bad the loss was, they always respond.

During a Saturday matinee to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Wild bounced back from a six-goal home loss to the Oilers two days earlier and 30 games into this season continue to be the only NHL team that hasn’t lost consecutive games in regulation.

Boosted by the returns of Jonas Brodin and Mats Zuccarello from injuries, Kirill Kaprizov scored twice, Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi scored the others and Marc-Andre Fleury recorded 21 saves in a 4-1 win at Xcel Energy Center.

The Flyers had points in eight of their previous 10 games.

Fleury, who played his 1,034th game and is 11 from playing the second-most in NHL history, won his 567th game (second all-time).

Kaprizov opened the scoring and moved within one goal of tying Marian Gaborik (30) for the third-most game-opening goals by a Wild player. Zach Parise (40) and Mikko Koivu (32) rank first and second.

His goal came on the third line with Freddy Gaudreau and Ben Jones because he took the spot of Marcus Foligno, who fought Garnet Hathaway. Kaprizov found Jon Merrill’s rim around the wall and then scored from a ridiculous angle by banking a shot intentionally off Sam Ersson’s mask.

Kaprizov later added his league-leading sixth empty-net goal and 20th on the season.

The Wild host the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday at 5 p.m. Filip Gustavsson, who has allowed nine goals in his past two starts, will be between the pipes.

Boldy makes amends again

In Utah on Tuesday night, Boldy said he had to do something to redeem himself for a poor game that included two penalties. So he scored his fifth career game-deciding goal in the shootout.

Well, in coach John Hynes’ doghouse after two more penalties against Edmonton and one more in the second period Saturday, Boldy scored his second goal in 10 games and became the third Wild player to record 200 points (233 games) before turning 24 (Gaborik and Pierre-Marc Bouchard) when he chased down Brock Faber’s headman pass for a breakaway goal and much-needed insurance marker late in the second.

There’s no doubt Boldy’s game has taken a turn for the worse the past month. And the penalties are starting to bother Hynes, especially the offensive-zone ones.

“I think some of the penalties we’ve taken, they’re reaching penalties,” Hynes said generally despite the fact there was little doubt whom he was referring to. “We’re not skating, we’re not checking with our feet. Hooks, trips, those types of things. What zones they’re in are important. So that’s an area that we’ve got to clean up for sure.”

Fleury quiets the waters

With the Wild starting to leak chances (nine goals allowed in the previous two games), the 40-year-old Fleury was outstanding. The Wild didn’t give up a lot of shots against the Flyers, but they sure played loose in the first 25 minutes. They gave up two-on-ones, breakaways and constantly turned pucks over in the neutral zone and defensive blue line.

His best save was arguably his best of the season — a complete robbery with his glove on Travis Konecny.

Now, there was some luck involved. Not long after stopping young star Matvei Michkov alone between the circles on the Wild’s third penalty kill of the game, Konecny had an open net from the left side of the game. But he shot the puck right into Michkov’s stick — a lucky break that kept the Wild lead at 1-0.

Zuccarello and Brodin return, Trenin and Lauko injured

One day after Bill Guerin pointed out that in the last two seasons, the Wild have continued to be inundated with injuries all at once, the Wild did get Brodin and Zuccarello back in the lineup.

Brodin had missed eight games with an upper-body injury and Zuccarello 13 games with a lower-body injury. Zuccarello’s return came exactly one month after a Faber shot exploded his … cup.

Zuccarello drew a penalty on his first shift and was his normal nifty self. Brodin stabilized the back end and was paired with Faber with Jake Middleton week to week with a hand injury.

Through two periods, Zuccarello had an 80 Corsi-For percentage and Brodin was 70.59.

Zuccarello also assisted on Rossi’s 11th goal of the season and Brodin assisted on Kaprizov’s empty-netter.

Because of Brodin’s return, Travis Dermott’s debut is on hold after a hectic travel day, not yet practicing with the Wild and not having played since Nov. 19. Coming off a win, he may not play Sunday either.

The Wild were without Yakov Trenin with an upper-body injury and Jakub Lauko, who returned three games ago after missing six, was lost to a lower-body injury in the first period.

(Photo: Nick Wosika / Imagn Images)





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About The Author

Avatar of Darlene Mendez
Darlene Mendez is a journalist with Prairie Island News. She has been writing for the paper for over 17 years and has won numerous awards for her stories on local government, education, and sports. Mendez enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also loves watching sports and reading books.

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