The Minnesota Wild got off to a shocking and incredible start to their first round series against the Dallas Stars, defeating them 6-1. Since then, the Wild dropped Games 2 and 3 to the Stars, setting up what is a must-win game for them on Saturday afternoon. It's not exactly a coincidence that the Wild were without Mats Zuccarello, who has been sidelined ever since taking an elbow to the face by Stars defenseman Tyler Myers.
On Saturday, about an hour before puck drop, the Wild announced that Zuccarello has been ruled out for Game 4. The Wild will need to step up in his absence, because they will be down 3-1 in the series, and only 32 teams in Stanley Cup Playoff history have done so. To do so, they will need their stars to step up, and Kirill Kaprizov knows that.
Before Game 4, Kaprizov said he knows he needs to step up and score some goals to keep the Wild alive in this playoff series.
“When your team win, it doesn’t matter,” said Kaprizov, h/t The Athletic's Michael Russo. “And when team (loses) and you don’t score or do something, it’s a little tough. But it’s playoffs. … It’s new day today and just try (not to think) about what happened in Game 3 and just keep moving (into) Game 4.”
Kirill Kaprizov knows he must step up in Mats Zuccarello's absence with Wild down ahead of Game 4
In Games 2 and 3, Kaprizov only had one assist to his credit and a total of four shots on goal. That's not ideal, especially for a player who is the highest-paid player in the NHL. He knows he must step up, even without Zuccarello, a player he has tremendous chemistry with.
Before the playoffs, Kaprizov scored 45 goals in 78 games, which is the fourth-most in the entire NHL. Kaprizov also notched 44 assists during that span. The expectation was that his production would carry over in the playoffs, especially against a tough team like the Stars. Even though he had a goal and two assists in the Game 1 win, he never got close to that production since.
“I need to score some goals, obviously," said Kaprizov, h/t The Athletic. "Our [power play] (is) a little struggling to score last two games. … We need to play on the power play a little better and score some goals. I think five-on-five, we play pretty good, like 50-50 game more. We have some chances, and Dallas have some chances.”
The Wild have obvious Stanley Cup aspirations, which was evident after they gave up three young players in exchange for star defenseman Quinn Hughes. With the current playoff format, they needed to make it through the Central Division to make it to the Western Conference Finals. They will need their stars to step up, and that includes Kaprizov.
We'll see if we see a more aggressive Kaprizov during Game 4, especially with Zuccarello sidelined for a third consecutive game.
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