Kirill Kaprizov (via Getty Images) Kirill Kaprizov rediscovered his scoring talent on Thursday night as he registered two goals, including the overtime winner, to give the Minnesota Wild a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings in front of their fans at Grand Casino Arena. This was an intriguing game as the two teams went all out to gain traction in the tightly contested playoff race.Kaprizov ended the game just 45 seconds into overtime after he burst through the slot and snapped a wrist shot past Detroit goaltender Cam Talbot. It was a crucial goal for Kaprizov, as it ended a mini-scoring drought for him and also gave the Wild a couple of precious points after they had won three out of their last four contests.
Minnesota Wild displays offensive depth in overtime win against Detroit Red Wings
The Minnesota Wild scored first in overtime in this game as well, but this game itself can be described as a roller-coaster ride of quick turnarounds in momentum throughout regulation between these two teams. The Red Wings scored first on a power-play goal midway through the first period as Raymond scored on a precisely placed shot to the corner of the net to start his strong offense on a roll this evening. Captain Kaprizov scored on a power-play goal in return midway through the first.“Yeah, when you don’t score long time, I try not to think about it, but it’s always sometimes in your head,” Kaprizov said. “But it’s nice to win tonight and score.”The Red Wings took the lead again during the second period when Brett Raymond capitalized on the turnover deep within the Minnesota zone. The forward scored his second goal of the evening with a snap shot from the slot. Their aggressive play kept the Wild on their heels, but the Minnesota team remained patient and stayed to their system of play.“(Zuccarello) had a heck of a night. It was good,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “I think that line was very good again tonight. I feel like we probably deserved more goals than we got. But we didn’t veer away from the game; we dug in and continued to do what we were doing in the second. We stayed with it, and to me that’s growth.”Kaprizov’s overtime goal was clearly the defining moment of the match, but the Minnesota performance as a whole also indicated a growing sense of confidence.