The Minnesota Wild are off to a great start, currently, they are second in the Central division and have improved in basically every metric compared to last season. The only worry is the absence of Kirill Kaprizov and the concerns it could have on the rest of the season.
The Minnesota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov had a tremendous start to the season. Through December, #97 had only missed a single game, and the Wild posted a 21-10-3 record with Kaprizov in the lineup. This is the complete opposite of how last season was going at this time. Going into 2024, the Wild had an abysmal record of 16-15-4. This year, the Wild have looked much improved, with the offense firing on all cylinders with the help of the Russian.
Kaprizov helped aid the offense immensely, putting up an impressive 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points during the 34-game span. He looked like an early candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Art Ross. Since Kaprizov has been out, the Wild have been quite streaky in the win column with a 6-4-1 record.
Filling the shoes that the superstar Russian has left is not an easy task. Thankfully for Wild fans all over, Matt Boldy has done a solid job keeping the first-line rolling offensively. Playing mainly on the second line this season, Boldy has been called upon to step in for #97. In the 11 games Kaprizov has missed, Boldy has done a fabulous job of filling in, scoring four goals and 11 points. For the year, Boldy has 17 goals and 39 points in 45 games. This would put him on pace for 71 points, the most in his career. The 23-year-old winger has played a key role in keeping Minnesota in second place in the Central Division.
While Boldy has done a good job of stepping into Kirill’s role, the Minnesota club needs their superstar back. When Kaprizov is in the lineup, the Wild have a points percentage of .662, which paces at the top five in the league. Without the superstar winger, the points percentage takes a noticeable dip to .591. While not having an awful stretch of games, The Wild have been streaky at best, winning four of their six games in a row.
Against playoff teams Minnesota has struggled without their number-one guy, losing to teams like Edmonton, Colorado, and Las Vegas. These are all teams the Wild could see at some point in the postseason, and having an elite goal scorer and playmaker would certainly help.
Minnesota has fortunately not dropped off the face of the earth in the wins department since the Russian has left the lineup. That being said, he is still an irreplaceable teammate who they cannot afford to lose for the majority of the season. In the NHL seeding does matter for home-ice advantage, and the Wild would surely love to make a push for the one seed in the Central.
The one-seed also gets to play a wildcard team, an advantage teams would kill for. A big contributing factor will be Kaprizov’s health, if he can make a return soon Minnesota’s hopes of the one seed remain alive and possible. Things seem to be headed in the right direction as he has been a participant in team practices, but his timetable for return is still uncertain.
As a fellow Minnesotan myself, I can’t wait until Kirill the thrill is back in action, until then check out more hockey news here.
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