Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and one assist as the Minnesota Wild pulled away for a 4-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno also scored for Minnesota, which extended its point streak to five games (4-0-1).
Nick Bjugstad scored the lone goal for Arizona. Michael Carcone and Michael Kesselring finished with one assist apiece for the Coyotes, who have lost four of their past five games.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of 22 shots to earn the victory for Minnesota. It marked Fleury’s 559th win of his career, which trails only Martin Brodeur (691) for the all-time lead.
Karel Vejmelka took the loss despite stopping 27 of 29 shots for the Coyotes.
Minnesota opened the scoring with 13:31 to go in the first period. Kaprizov handled the puck at the top of the left circle and fired a wrist shot through traffic and into the net.
The Coyotes pulled even at 1-1 with 11:52 remaining in the second period. Bjugstad scored his 16th goal on a rising wrist shot from the right corner.
Bjugstad smiled and banged the plexiglass behind the net as he celebrated the goal in his native state. The play carried extra meaning for the 31-year-old, who was born in Blaine, Minn., and played collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The Wild grabbed a 2-1 lead with 1:44 to play in the second period. Kaprizov slid a pass to Hartman, who punched in a shot from the right side of the crease for his 17th goal.
Minnesota made it 3-1 on Kaprizov’s second goal of the game and his team-leading 33rd goal of the season. It came with an empty net and 2:32 remaining.
Foligno followed with another empty-net goal to finish the scoring with 2:05 remaining. It marked Foligno’s 10th goal of the season and his third in the past seven games.
–Field Level Media
