Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 3, Hurricanes 1

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 3-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday night:

1. Now it's official
Kirill Kaprizov tied Marian Gaborik's franchise record of 83 points in the overtime loss to the Penguins last time out.
It didn't take him long to wrestle that record away on his own ... 10 minutes and 20 seconds into the game Saturday, to be exact ... when Kaprizov earned the second assist on Mats Zuccarello's power-play goal, giving him 84 points on the season.

"It's a huge accomplishment for me, I'd like to thank my teammates, the coaching staff and everyone in the organization that made it possible," Kaprizov said through a translator. "I think tonight, we can do a little bit of celebrating, but tomorrow is a game so we need to really start focusing on the opponent tomorrow."
It was fitting, of course -- and a little bit predictable -- that Kaprizov would set the new record on a play capitalized by the man he's most synonymous with.

"It was nice that I got a goal for once and he would have gotten it a lot earlier if I could score more often," Zuccarello said with a grin. "It's fun for him and it's fun for all of us. He's a special player, like we all know and it's a good day; two points and a record for him.
"We're kind of the same person. I'm a little bit older, but he keeps me younger, he's competitive, we both are. We'll be on each other, but we have a good relationship.
"It's not often you find someone you click that well with, on and off [the ice]. It's been special for me."

For Zuccarello, the goal was his 20th of the season, giving him his second career 20-goal campaign and first since 2015-16, when he scored 26 with the New York Rangers.
Zuccarello has already obliterated his career high in points, tallying his 69th of the season on a Kaprizov goal in the third period that pushed Minnesota's lead to 3-nothing, a goal which gives Kaprizov 85 points.

The win for Minnesota was its eighth in the past nine games and extended the Wild's point streak to nine games, as it maintained a three-point advantage over the third-place St. Louis Blues in the Central Division standings, and seven points clear of fourth-place Nashville, whom the Wild also has a game in hand on.
Minnesota moved to 13-0-2 against the Metropolitan Division , with its final game of the season against the Metro on tap Sunday in Washington.
2. Flower feelin' it
It took one trip to an Eastern Conference barn for Marc-Andre Fleury to channel his best stuff, as the long-time former Pittsburgh Penguin made 37 saves -- many of them spectacular -- to earn his third win in a Wild sweater.
Fleury was especially good during a critical juncture late in the second period with the Wild holding a two-goal lead.

"Today, he was pretty good," Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin told Bally Sports North's Kevin Gorg after the game. "The second period there, he made unbelievable saves."
This game ends up trending much differently if the Hurricanes are able to cut the Wild lead in half. Instead, Fleury made a number of big saves -- including a handful of robberies on Vincent Trocheck alone -- as well as a stellar sprawling right-pad save on Martin Necas in the final minute of the second to get Minnesota to intermission.
Sure enough, eight minutes into the third, the Wild was able to push its lead to three goals and stymie any real hopes of a late rally by Carolina when Zuccarello and Kaprizov worked their magic for a bank shot that made it 3-zip.

"I think he won the game for us today," Zuccarello said. "They had some really good chances in the second period, we were a little loose and he was [great]."
With three wins in three games under his belt, to go along with a 1.34 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage, Fleury has found the best possible way to endear himself to his new teammates.

Per NHL Stats, Fleury became the first Wild goaltender in franchise history to win his first three starts with the team.

"That helps for sure," Fleury said. "When I came in, I wanted to come in and make a good first impression. Obviously, it's a team game and I don't play by myself back there. Guys have been playing great in front of me. But it's definitely a lot more fun when you win games."
3. Toppling the trends
Carolina has been one of the best teams in the NHL in a bunch of different facets this season, which is why they're one of the top teams in the league overall.
They've been really good at home, entering the night with the second-fewest regulation losses on friendly ice (five) this season.

"We know how good of a team this is and how many good players there are on that team," Zuccarello said. "This was a big win for us and we get a big goal and go from there."
The Canes entered play riding a six-game point streak, and a big part of that recipe has been getting out in front early in games and limiting opponent's offense in the first period.
When Zuccarello scored his power-play goal midway through the first, it was the first opening-period goal allowed by the Hurricanes in eight games.

The power-play goal allowed by Carolina was also rare: it was just the 10th surrendered by the home team at PNC Arena this season, with its 92.1 percent home PK ranking as the best in the NHL. Teams have struggled to score power-play goals anywhere against Carolina this season, with the Canes' 88.5 success rate in killing penalties ranking tops in the entire league.
The special teams matchup was expected to be a good one, however, as the Wild's up-and-down power play has actually been one of the NHL's better units on the road. Minnesota's road peeper has converted at a clip five percent better away from home than it has at Xcel Energy Center, ranking seventh-most potent in the league on the road entering the night.

With the second of back-to-back games looming against the Capitals on Sunday, it also helped the Wild's cause that it was able to play in front all night, rolling its four lines consistently until the end of the game and not taxing any one line too much.
That should help keep guys fresh and ready for what promises to be yet another fast, physical game in less than 24 hours.
"I think that first goal went a long way for us here tonight," Evason said.

Loose pucks

• The Wild improved to 21-5-4 against the Eastern Conference this season, setting a new team record for wins and points against the East in a single season
• Minnesota's nine-game point streak is the longest active streak in the NHL
• The Wild swept the season series against the Hurricanes for the first time since 2015-16
• Dmitry Kulikov's second-period goal was his fifth of the year and snapped a 20-game goal drought
• Jared Spurgeon's assist extended his point streak to three games
• Kaprizov has an active six-game point streak
• The Wild has tallied a power-play goal in five consecutive games
• Tyson Jost had the first assist on Kulikov's goal for his second point in a Wild uniform
• Teuvo Teravainen scored the only goal for Carolina

  - Frederik Andersen made 16 saves on 19 shots

Dan's three stars

1. Marc-Andre Fleury
   2. Mats Zuccarello
   3. Kirill Kaprizov

Highlights