Game Recap: Wild 5, Kraken 2

SEATTLE -- Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist, and Mats Zuccarello had four assists for the Minnesota Wild in a 5-2 win against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday.

Kaprizov extended his point streak to eight games (seven goals, 11 assists).

Matt Boldy and Marcus Johansson scored for the Wild (28-24-6), who were coming off a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday and have won seven of their past nine games (7-1-1). Marc-Andre Fleury had 30 saves.

"I thought Seattle came out pretty hard, obviously got [an early] goal,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “Sometimes on the road, that’s difficult because it gets the crowd into the game. But I thought our response in our team game was strong.”

Vince Dunn and Jordan Eberle scored for the Kraken (24-22-11), who had won three of four. Joey Daccord allowed four goals on 19 shots and was replaced at 2:14 of the second period by Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 17 of 18 shots in relief.

“I don't think we should be frustrated, I think we should be pretty upset with ourselves,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “There's moments in the game that are game-changing moments that two nights ago [in a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks], we met every one of those moments. Tonight, we didn't meet very many of them.”

Dunn gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead 36 seconds into the first period, one-timing a Jared McCann pass from the point off the left post and in.

The Wild then scored five consecutive goals.

Johansson tied it 1-1 at 4:59 with a wrist shot from the right circle that squeezed under Daccord’s right arm. He played 51 games for the Kraken in 2021-22 before being traded to the Washington Capitals prior to the trade deadline.

“It's always fun [to score against your former team],” Johansson said. “I know most of the guys in there, and it's always fun playing your old teammates.”

Hynes said, “Johansson's goal was a big one for us to get that response right away. And then from there, we were able to get our footing a little bit and move forward."

Kaprizov gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead on a 5-on-3 advantage at 13:32, taking a pass behind the net from Zuccarello and stuffing it inside the near post.

"We've scored before like this,” Kaprizov said. “I see the goalie was on the weak side, I just try [to stuff it in]."

Boldy extended it to 3-1 at 1:09 of the second period on the power play, deking around Seattle defenseman Will Borgen and backhanding it over Daccord’s glove. It was Boldy’s third goal in his past two games.

“We come out in the second on another penalty that I don't like that we took to end the first,” Hakstol said. “But we have an opportunity again to get that kill to push momentum in our direction. We failed to clear the puck four or five times before the goal was scored.”

Kaprizov’s second goal pushed it to 4-1 at 2:14, streaking in on a rush and snapping it off the crossbar and in.

“How you have to win is the players that play the most minutes, which usually are your top players or your highest-paid players or however you want to phrase what it is,” Hynes said, “when they can drive a team, and they're playing the game the right way, and they're difference makers in the game, that's a pretty good quality to have with a winning team."

Dakota Mermis made it 5-1 at 6:58 on a wrist shot from the high slot.

Eberle banked a pass from the corner off Mermis’ skate and in at 6:11 of the third period for the 5-2 final.

“We need every point we can get,” Johansson said. “And, I mean, playing against the teams that we're fighting with, obviously the games mean a little bit more."

NOTES: Kaprizov has 12 points in his last four games (six goals, six assists). … It was the fifth four-point game of Zuccarello’s career, second-most in Wild franchise history behind Marian Gaborik, who had seven. … Joel Eriksson Ek left with 6:26 left in the third period after a hit into the end boards by Borgen. Hynes indicated he does not expect the center to miss any additional time. “He should be good,” Hynes said. … McCann’s assist extended his point streak (five goals, six assists) to seven games, the longest of his career.