Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov injured in win over Jets: What an extended absence would

Minnesota Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov left Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Winnipeg with an apparent injury and did not return. Here’s what you need to know:

• Kaprizov exited midway through the third period after being taken down to the ice awkwardly by Jets defenseman Logan Stanley.
• He was able to skate back to the Minnesota bench under his own power before heading to the locker room.
• Coach Dean Evason had no update on Kaprizov after the game. A team source confirmed to The Athletic Kaprizov will undergo further evaluation during Thursday’s off-day.

Backstory

The 25-year-old winger entered Wednesday’s game as the Wild’s leading scorer with 39 goals this season. He also recorded his 35th assist of the season on a second-period goal by Ryan Hartman before exiting.

Kaprizov is coming off a career 2021-22 campaign which saw him notch a franchise-record 108 points in 81 games after winning the Calder Trophy as a rookie. Kaprizov has yet to miss a game for Minnesota this season.

With Wednesday’s victory, the Wild improved to 37-21-7 and tied Dallas — which has a game in hand on Minnesota — atop the Central Division standings with 81 points.

What an extended absence would mean for Minnesota

For a team starved for scoring (26th with 2.75 goals per game and 31st with 106 five-on-five goals) the Wild, riding an 11-game point streak, simply cannot afford an extended absence from their lone star. Kaprizov has scored 39 of their 179 goals this season, or 21.8 percent.

Since the All-Star break, he is ranked third in the NHL with 12 goals behind Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon (13 each). He is one goal short of joining McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak as the only NHL players with 40-plus goals in the past two seasons. — Russo

Who would replace Kaprizov in the lineup?

Kaprizov has missed two games in his NHL career, one due to injury. So the good news is one of the grittiest superstars in the NHL has a high pain threshold. The bad news is Kaprizov’s legs did the splits when the 6-foot-7 Stanley fell on top of him and he was favoring his left leg as he skated off the ice. If Kaprizov is to miss games, the Wild have skilled Sam Steel in the press box and Brandon Duhaime working his way back from injury. The Wild can also dip into the minors for Marco Rossi, Adam Beckman or Sammy Walker. — Russo

What they’re saying

Stanley’s view of the play that injured Kaprizov:

“Well, he stopped and I tried to finish my check on him. Then I just fell on top of him.”

Stanley spoke on whether he lost his balance on the play.

“Maybe a little bit. I wasn’t expecting him to go down. It’s just an unfortunate play.”

Required reading

(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today)