"For me personally obviously it's a bit frustrating but I'm confident this next game I should break through and be able to help out the team and do more on my end," Kaprizov said through a translator on Thursday, one day before the Wild will try to avoid elimination when they play the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at Xcel Energy Center (9:30 p.m. ET; TBS, SN360, TVAS2, BSN, BSWI, BSSW).
The Stars have won two in a row and lead the best-of-7 series 3-2.
RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Wild series coverage]
Kaprizov, who turned 26 on Wednesday, has one goal through five games for the Wild after leading them in the regular season with 75 points (40 goals, 35 assists) in 67 games. The playoff goal came on the Wild's first power play in Game 1, a 3-2 double-overtime win against the Stars.
This postseason is a polar opposite of last year's for Kaprizov, who led the Wild with eight points (seven goals, one assist) in six games against the St. Louis Blues in the first round last season.
"I think there's definitely some responsibility on my end to play better. Of course, I feel that," Kaprizov said. "Of course I feel that I need to perform better. But it's not something I want to dwell on and it's not something I want to think about. It's not going to make it better."
The Wild will need their best game overall and their best game from their top players, Kaprizov included, to stay alive in the series. Kaprizov is feeling the pressure to produce more but he's dealt with that before and knows he will again.
"I've got to go out there and I've got to play my game," he said. "If I do that, I think it'll turn, and the goals will come."
Wild defenseman Matt Dumba said Kaprizov is "probably the best player I've ever played with" and that the forward will be just fine.
"We all believe in him. He believes in himself," Dumba said. "We played some cards the other night, snapped them around, and just got back to us. You've got to keep it even keeled. It's not over. Whatever stress, whatever is being put out in the media, once the puck's dropped, all that goes wayside and it's just another game.
"What he can do for us, everyone's going be working hard to make sure he's getting the looks, but he creates them himself, too. He works so hard and you can see it. He's going to break through, I know it."
Wild coach Dean Evason said there's no need to say anything to Kaprizov about his struggle to score.
"He's doing the right things, he's going to the dirty areas. He's not staying out (on the perimeter). He's getting inside, he's getting looks, he's getting special attention, sure. All the special players get special attention this time of year and they have to fight through, and they have to find a way to help their team score because he's a scorer," he said.
"But he doesn't need a touch-up to tell him where to go or how to play or to play any harder. He's playing hard. He'll score when we need him to score."
The Stars have tried to shut down the Wild overall but obviously have been focusing on Kaprizov. It's nothing new to Kaprizov, and he knows he has to work through it.
"At the end of the day, you've got to play your game and it's a good thing that they're following you around," he said. "It means you have an opportunity to do something. It means you're an impactful player. Just got to find a way to get it done."
Kaprizov missed a month during the regular season with a lower-body injury he sustained in a 4-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 8 before returning on April 8.
Asked if he was playing hurt, Kaprizov said, "Nope, I feel great, 100 percent."
Although Kaprizov practiced on Thursday, his linemates, center Ryan Hartman and right wing Mats Zuccarello, did not. Evason said each was taking a maintenance day and "hopefully everybody is available to us tomorrow."
