Kirill Kaprizov scores twice, adds assist as Wild beat Coyotes 4-1
Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals and assisted on another, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves as the Minnesota Wild earned their fourth victory in five games, 4-1 over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.
Kaprizov scored an empty-netter with 2:32 to play, firing the puck the length of the ice to seal the win. Arizona had pulled goalie Karel Vejmelka with just under three minutes remaining.
Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno also scored for Minnesota. Foligno's goal was an empty-netter after Arizona pulled Vejmelka a second time in the final minutes.
"I thought we played a really tight game overall," Hartman said. "I don't know how many grade-A (chances) they had, but it wasn't many. We played a pretty sound game."
Nick Bjugstad scored for the Coyotes, who have lost four of five.
Hartman's power-play goal put the Wild up 2-1 with 1:44 left in the second period. He took a centering pass from Kaprizov to beat Vejmelka. Hartman's goal was his second in as many games and his 17th on the season.
Vejmelka made 27 saves but fell to 8-17-2 on the season.
"We can't rely on our goalies that much every night, and it seems like some nights that's kind of the theme," Coyotes forward Michael Carcone said. "We've got to get away from that and start playing some good hockey here."
Kaprizov's 32nd goal of the season put the Wild up 1-0 at the 6:29 mark of the first period. He fired a shot from the left circle that made its way through traffic, extending his point streak to five games. Kaprizov has six goals and three assists during that stretch.
Kaprizov has 39 points in his last 24 games.
"He's just playing a real strong, solid style of hockey game and he's an elite talent," Wild coach John Hynes said. "So when you combine those things together, you're going to get that type of production. He's a game-changer."
Arizona made it 1-1 in the second period when Bjugstad beat defenseman Jonas Brodin and snapped a shot past Fleury. The Minnesota native has four goals in two games in St. Paul this year after his hat trick against the Wild in January.
Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton missed the game with a lower-body injury. Hayton had two assists in Arizona's loss at Chicago on Sunday.
After the game, Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said Hayton will miss time with the injury and will have more exams done.
"It's not a day-to-day injury," Tourigny said. "It will be longer than that."
The Wild celebrated Pride Night. Several players, including Fleury and defenseman Jon Merrill, wore Pride tape on their sticks during warmups. Merrill was named Twin Cities Pride's Ally of the Year.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: At Detroit on Thursday night.
Wild: Host Anaheim on Thursday night.