Kirill the Thrill Goal Streak Reaches Six Games

As Kirill Kaprizov goes, so goes the Minnesota Wild.

Kaprizov scored a goal in his sixth consecutive game and added a shootout tally to help the Wild down the Dallas Stars 6-5 in a shootout Sunday night. That was the Wild’s sixth win in the past seven games. After a ho-hum start, the Wild are now in third place in the Central Division.

The win gives the Wild a good start to a four-game road trip that also includes stops in Calgary (Wednesday), Edmonton (Friday) and Vancouver (Saturday).

Kirill the Thrill has a 12-game points streak to go along with his six-game goal streak. Since Nov. 9, he has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in 12 games. He is now tied with Mikael Granlund (2016-17) and Kevin Fiala (2020-21) for the longest points streaks in team history.

“He finds a way,” Jordan Greenway told the media after the win in Dallas “You’ve got to think the coaches are like, ‘Stay with Kirill.’ He still finds a way to get open. It’s crazy.”

He is certainly among the NHL’s least publicized superstars. He has high entertainment value. Kaprizov, boasting a variety of stick-handling tricks, has magic in his game.

Kaprizov’s 16 goals tie him for fifth among league goal scorers. He’s on pace for 55 goals this season.. He netted 47 last season. The electrifying Russian is also on target to put up his second consecutive 100+ points season.

Kaprizov is shooting more this season. He is averaging 4.25 shots on goal per game. If he maintains that rate, he will finish with 60 more shots on goal than he had last season. That would bolster the Wild’s playoff aspirations.

🏆 Luke Schenn sets NHL record for most all-time hits by a defenseman. With six hits Saturday night against the Coyotes, the Canucks' defenseman passed Brooks Orpik for most hits since the stat has been recorded. The 33-year-old journeyman has played for seven teams and won two Stanley Cups across his fifteen NHL seasons.

🏅 Marner passes Sittler, Olczyk to set new Leafs’ point streak record at 19 games. Marner scored a beautiful shorthanded one-timer Saturday night in Tampa to set the new Leafs' record. Marner has recorded nine goals and seventeen assists during his record-setting point streak. But the 25-year-old forward still has a lot of work to do to challenge the NHL's all-time point streak record, held by Wayne Gretzky at 51 games!

TRIVIA: Who holds the record for most hits recorded in one NHL season?

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TRIVIA ANSWER:

Matt Martin holds the record with most hits in one NHL season with 382. And he's actually recorded four of the top-five seasons with the most hits 🤯