ANAHEIM, Calif. — A well-rested Kirill Kaprizov took out his frustrations on the Anaheim Ducks.
The Minnesota forward — who received a match penalty and $5,000 fine for roughing Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty during the second period Tuesday night — scored two power-play goals as the Wild continued their dominance over the Ducks with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night.
“He was motivated with everything that went on last night,” Wild coach Dean Evason said.
The game was tied 1-1 after two periods before the Wild took control. Matt Dumba scored the go-ahead goal 1:21 into the third when he put in a loose puck in front of the net.
Joseph Cramarossa also scored for the Wild, who have won 11 straight over the Ducks, which is the longest winning streak against an opponent in franchise history. Filip Gustavsson stopped 32 shots.
“Even in the first period, we had lots of chances. It was just a matter of time. We stuck with it and good things happened,” Dumba said. “To have that one on the power play go in, we were ready to come out for the third. We found our legs and knew we had to push for 20 more minutes.”
Pavol Regenda scored his first NHL goal as the Ducks dropped to 0-9 in games decided by two goals or more. John Gibson made 35 saves.
“The pace was good. We got into some penalty trouble there. That’s always going to take you out of it a little bit, putting your penalty kill guys under a lot of duress,” Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler said. "It’s hard to get into the rhythm of the game and that was a big issue in the third period for us."
It is the second time in Kaprizov’s three seasons in the NHL he has scored twice on the power play. The other was in 2021 against Colorado.
Minnesota, which came into the game eighth in the league on the power play, was 2 for 6.
“When pucks aren’t going into the net and you are not feeling good, you need looks on the power play to get you going,” Evason said. “We had a few more looks here tonight, it allowed us to feel good. Not only the guys on the ice but the guys on the bench feel that too.”
Kaprizov tied the game at 1 at 16:37 of the second period when he redirected Matt Boldy's shot past Gibson 13 seconds into the Wild's power play. The score also snapped a goal drought of nearly eight periods for the Wild (159 minutes, 40 seconds) after they were shut out in their last two games.
Kaprizov made it 3-1 when he slipped the puck into the near side of the post after getting a pass from Mats Zuccarello while the Wild had a two-man advantage.
In his 13th game, Kaprizov became the second-fastest player in Wild history to accumulate 10 goals in a season. Brian Rolston did it in 12 games during the 2006-07 season.
STREAKING
The Wild's 11-game run over the Ducks is the second-longest active streak in the NHL. The Boston Bruins have won 19 straight over the Arizona Coyotes.
FIRST GOAL
Regenda's first NHL goal came at 13:24 of the second period. He fired a snap shot from the slot to give Anaheim a short-lived 1-0 advantage.
Regenda was called up from the Ducks' AHL affiliate in San Diego with Adam Henrique out of the lineup as his wife, Lauren, is expecting the couple's first child.
OVERRULED
Zegras appeared to score the third lacrosse-style goal in his brief NHL career early in the second period, but it was overruled when replay determined Dmitry Kulikov was offside prior to the goal.
Zegras had possession behind the Wild's net before wrapping around the net, scooping the puck with his stick blade and putting it over Gustavsson's right shoulder. Zegras did a salute after the goal in honor of the game being held on Ducks Military Appreciation Night.
“It’s so ridiculous. I watched it in slow-mo between the periods and the speed he does it and picking up the puck by himself and doing that, it’s just crazy. I don’t know what to say about it,” Gustavsson said.
UP NEXT
Wild: Travel to Seattle on Friday.
Ducks: Host Chicago on Saturday.
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