Kaprizov, Wild edge Lightning, extend season-opening point streak to 7

TAMPA -- Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist for his fourth straight multipoint game, and the Minnesota Wild extended their season-opening point streak to seven games with a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Matt Boldy scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and had an assist for the Wild (5-0-2), who have won four in a row during their point streak, which matches the longest to open a season in their history (2008-09). Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves.

"We're maybe more on the same page, everywhere and in every zone," Fleury said. "Guys know where to go, where they'll be, so when we get the puck, they don't have to think or look around too much. We have an idea where the guys are at, and that allows us to move quicker and get out of the zone quicker and attack a little quicker in the offensive zone."

Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel scored for the Lightning (4-3-0), who have lost three of four. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 14 saves.

"That’s a good team over there," Tampa Bay forward Anthony Cirelli said. "They stuck to their structure the whole game. They capitalized on their chances and played a simple game. For us, I thought we had spurts of playing our game, but at times we got away from it, and they took advantage of that."

Kaprizov gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 6:23 of the first period. He scored on a one-timer that beat Vasilevskiy short side off a cross-ice pass from Marco Rossi.

Hagel tied it 1-1 at 8:55 of the second period with a short-handed goal, beating Fleury from above the hash marks.

"I took it to the middle and ‘Hags’ called for it," Cirelli said. "I laid it there and he did the rest."

Kucherov put the Lightning ahead 2-1 at 11:31 with a one-timer off a pass from Nicholas Paul.

"The bottom line in this game is that there were two disciplined teams," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We had a one-goal lead with two minutes left in the second period, and we have a bad breakdown that gave them a freebie. In the third period we take a penalty and they get a power-play goal. The game was won in like four minutes."

Joel Eriksson Ek tied it 2-2 at 18:22 of the second, burying a shot from the low slot off a pass from Zach Bogosian.

"I feel like the last few games we've almost connected a few times." Bogosian said. "It felt nice to get one in."

Boldy gave the Wild a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal 54 seconds into the third period, scoring with a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Mats Zuccarello.

Kaprizov scored an empty-net goal at 19:26 for the 4-2 final. He has nine points (three goals, six assists) during his multipoint streak.

"I thought there were a lot of really good components to the game," Minnesota coach John Hynes said. "We got off to a good start, got the lead, then the shorty and in the second we got a little bit wayward, but I thought the third period we played really solid.

"You know they're going to make a push in that situation, but I thought our puck decisions, our attention to detail, our structure, our stick detail ... those things really helped. And we got some great saves from ‘Flower’ when we needed them, so it was nice to have him back in there."

NOTES: The Wild started 6-0-1 in 2008-09. ... Kaprizov joined Pierre-Marc Bouchard (2012-13) as the only Wild players with a four-game multipoint streak on the road. ... Kucherov has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) during a season-opening seven-game point streak. … The Lightning became the first team to hold a lead in regulation against the Wild this season. Minnesota did not trail in regulation for a total of 391:31.