Kirill Kaprizov is tied for the league lead with six goals after he doubled his total with a hat trick over the weekend.
Kaprizov will try to keep up his hot start when the Minnesota Wild face off against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday evening in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Wild are coming off a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday in which Kaprizov tallied his seventh career hat trick. He already has two multiple-goal games this season.
Despite his prowess on offense, Kaprizov would rather discuss his teammates’ tenacity on defense. He praised the Wild’s penalty-killing unit for being a huge part of the team’s early-season success.
Minnesota has killed off 16 of 17 opposing power plays. Its 94.1% success rate ranks tied for second in the NHL behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (95%).
Kaprizov smiled as he described his teammates’ effort.
“When you don’t play ‘PK,’ you just try to help the boys from the bench and give some energy,” Kaprizov said. “Because guys are blocking shots and working hard. It’s not easy to play on the ‘PK.’ You just cheer for the boys. The guys are doing a great job.”
Next comes a test against the Golden Knights, who are riding a four-game winning streak as they travel north. Vegas is coming off a 2-1 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings, also on Saturday, which followed victories over the Maple Leafs, Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks.
Jack Eichel leads the Golden Knights with 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in six games. Mark Stone is next with seven points (three goals, four assists), and Mitch Marner is one of three players tied for third on the scoresheet with five points apiece.
Marner potted the overtime winner in Vegas’ most recent win against the Kings. He praised his teammates for their strong play in all situations whether it was even strength, the power-play unit or the penalty-kill group.
“I really liked our 5-on-5 game,” Marner said. “I thought we did create a lot of chances. I thought we defended well when we needed to as well, and when we needed it, (goaltender Carter) Hart made some big saves.
“We’ve just got to keep grinding. It’s not going to get any easier. We’ve got to keep just making sure our power play is dialed in and doing the right thing.”
The Wild could start Jesper Wallstedt or Calvin Pickard in net. Wallstedt is 3-1-1 with a 1.78 goals-against average in five starts, and Pickard has yet to make his season debut.
In one career game against Vegas, Wallstedt is 0-1-0 with a 3.12 GAA. Pickard also has faced Vegas once, and he is 1-0-0 with a 2.03 GAA.
The Golden Knights’ options in net include Hart and Adin Hill. Hart is 3-1-0 with a 2.25 GAA in four starts, while Hill is 2-0-0 with a 2.41 GAA in two starts.
Hart is 4-3-1 with a 3.84 GAA in eight career starts against Minnesota and Hill is 3-4-0 with a 2.29 GAA in eight career matchups.
