Wild top Ducks in OT

In St Paul, Kirill Kaprizov scored with 17 seconds gone in extra time for a 4-3 win for the Minnesota Wild over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

It was the rookie’s 27th goal of the campaign.

“He’s a special player,” the Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek said. “Every time he gets the puck you can feel it in the arena. It’s amazing the things he does. He’s just creating all the time, and it doesn’t really matter who’s close to him. He can create a lot and he’s been really good for us.”

Kaapo Kahkonen made 22 saves in the win.

“We didn’t like our game at all,” Wild head coach Dean Evason said. “We knew that they were going to play hard and that they were going to be good.

“… But for us, the good part is, if there is a good part, they said all the good things on the bench. We asked them if they got tired of hearing themselves say ‘Get it in deep and don’t turn it over’ because that’s how we feel. Hopefully we got it out of our system and we can go forward tomorrow [in the second of the back-to-back set].”

Victor Rask, Eriksson Ek and Nico Sturm  scored for the Wild in regulation.

“I mean, we’ve still got something to play for, right?” Sturm said. “… So as long as you’ve got something to play for, there’s really no need to step off the gas. … But in terms of getting two points, we’ve got to do a better job tomorrow, play with some more intensity.”

Adam Henrique had a goal in his return from COVID19 protocol.

“I mean, the standings are the standings. I think it’s just important to finish out the year strong,” Henrique said. “With guys in and out of the lineup, everybody has to have the mindset to finish the year off strong. Whether that’s for personal goals or whatever, I think it’s important.”

Max Comtois and Derek Grant  also scored for the Ducks.

“I think it’s just encouraging that this time of year, where we’re at in the standings, I think the easy thing would be just to mail it in, and the guys aren’t doing that,” Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins said. “They’re playing hard for each other. It’s fun to be in the game. It’s disappointing giving up that extra point there tonight, but our guys stuck with the program certainly tonight.”

John Gibson made 32 saves in the loss.