Kirill Kaprizov put the Minnesota Wild ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets at 3:06 of the second period on Sunday with a power-play goal that had no business going in. From low in the circle, on an angle that left him almost nothing to shoot at, he lifted it short side over Cam Talbot‘s shoulder.
The broadcast replay was good. The alternate angle that surfaced afterwards was better, and it has been circulating ever since.
“This is mesmerizing,” wrote Ryan Whitney of Spittin’ Chiclets.
“This angle is perfection,” said one fan, with others keeping it shorter still: “Nasty shot.” “Insane shot by Kaprizov.”
One took the opportunity to settle an old score about the eight-year, $136 million contract the 29-year-old signed. “A lot of people told me he was wildly overpaid,” they wrote.
Who has reached 10 goals fastest in the NHL?
Brian Rolston held the Minnesota record at 12 games, set back in 2006-07. Kaprizov needed nine, and the Wild had never previously had a player reach double figures in fewer than 12.
The wider company is thinner still. He became only the sixth active player to hit 10 goals in nine games or fewer, after Auston Matthews in six back in 2018-19, Alex Ovechkin in eight, David Pastrnak twice in nine, Nikita Kucherov in nine and Sidney Crosby in nine.
READ MORE:
Talbot wasn’t inclined to make excuses for it.
“I think I gave him a little bit too much,” he said. “He put it in a great spot.”
The goal also extended Kaprizov’s point streak to six games and came three days after he was driven into the boards by Blues goaltender Joel Hofer and left the ice down the tunnel, and a day after illness kept him out of practice.
Minnesota won the game 2-1 to move to 6-2-1 and top of the Central Division, with Jesper Wallstedt making 13 saves behind a defense that held Columbus to a season-low 14 shots.
Read more:
