What happened to Kaprizov? The “Minnesota” striker has clearly slowed down in the NHL, and the fans are waiting for goals

Athletistic/Hockey. Minnesota had scoring issues. In the last six games of the NHL regular season, “Wild” scored only 8 goals.

The main star of the team, Kirill Kaprizov, did not upset the opposing goalkeepers in two consecutive fights: in the match against Nashville, which was held on Tuesday evening, the Russian striker collected only one decisive pass.

One effective point from Kaprizov was not enough for “Minnesota” to get points at the site “Predators” – “Wild” lost 1:2.

This season, Kaprizov has scored 18 (10+8) points in 16 matches. Cyril remains the most productive player of the “Wild” of the current regular season.

Kaprizov’s team will play the next game at home on Friday night, when they face Evgeni Malkin’s Pittsburgh.

Here’s how American hockey fans reacted on social media to Minnesota’s troubles:

@ChrisWestin:

– Only Kaprizov maintains “Minnesota” in competitive form. Without him, the Wild could very well be the worst team in the league and have the right to choose the best player in the next draft.

@john43047602:

– “Nashville” players started attacking and penetrating Kaprizov every time he tried to enter the area. It turns out that this personal game tactic against a hockey player can be cool.

@Sloothjohn:

– I don’t think the coach is the problem. The problem is that “Minnesota” no longer has high-level snipers except for Kaprizov. He is the biggest threat to the Wild’s opponents.

@aroles02:

– Please split the Caprice-Zuccarello duo in the next game.

@HousecatsNSH:

“Kaprizov didn’t look like Minnesota’s killer today, but that happens to all stars.

@Austan_L:

– I think now, perhaps, the time has come to separate the Caprices – Zuccarello tandem for a while, so that each of them shakes off, as happened last season. They have to be moved.

@SubwolfB:

– It’s funny when someone thinks that removing Zuccarello from the existing pair with Kaprizov will somehow help Minnesota.

@RichardT2960:

“The Wild better have Kaprizov love Minnesota State madly, because at this rate he probably won’t want to play at that miserable club after a while.

@kaacire31:

– Only Kirill can shoot this team. If you remember the last playoffs, everyone but him became kind of liquid when it came to the most important games.

@sethtoups:

– If you are a Minnesota rival, you have to be very careful of Kaprizov and follow Zuccarello and Baldy a bit – you have nothing to worry about anymore.

@jjmid04:

– Today Kaprizov did not look like himself, but there was a stronger disappointment – ​​like Matt Baldy.

@MasonClty:

– Maybe Kirill misses the times when Hartman played as a central striker in his link?

@AlexLee1616:

– From the start of the matches, the opponents simply begin to “blizzard” Kaprizov, knowing that he is the only real danger for them.

@MistedTwister:

– The trade of Kevin Fiala to “Los Angeles” was a huge mistake, “Minnesota” – now the team is left with only one elite scorer in the face of Kaprizov, whom opponents try to tie hands and feet throughout the game.

@ObermillerNate:

– It’s just that the Wild sold their soul for Kaprizov at some point – hence the poor results.

Kaprizov will have to pay a big fine for his turn in the NHL

Kaprizov graduated from Novokuznetsk hockey. Drafted 135th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Olympic champion at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. Silver medal at the 2016 Junior World Championships. Bronze medal at the 2017 Junior World Championships. Winner of the Gagarin Cup (2019). Bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championship. Winner of the 2021 Calder Trophy for the best newcomer to the NHL.

On July 13, 2020, Kaprizov signed a two-year rookie contract with the Minnesota Wild NHL club. He made his NHL debut on January 14, 2021 in a game against the Los Angeles Kings, in which he scored 3 points, had two assists and scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

On March 12, 2021, the Russian scored his first NHL hat trick, scoring three goals against the Arizona Coyotes. On June 30, 2021, Kirill received the Calder Trophy, the NHL’s top rookie award.

On September 21, 2021, Kaprizov signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.

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