For a guy who had just scored his sixth goal in the NHL, and first with the Minnesota Wild, Maxim Shabanov looked like a guy who had practiced his “celly” a time or two.
Shabanov, who turned 26-years old on Thursday, was playing just his third game for Minnesota, and has yet to crack the 50-career-games mark early in his second North American season. He had already seen what should have been his first Wild goal taken off the board in the first period on Tuesday due to a quick whistle.
But with the Wild up 1-0 in the second, less than two minutes after his linemate and countryman Danila Yurov had opened the scoring, Shabanov got a puck on the flank to the right of Buffalo’s net. He snapped a low shot past the goalie.
Shabanov, who played four years in Russia’s top hockey league before breaking into the NHL with the New York Islanders last season, twirled his stick, then pushed it down like he was sheathing a sword. Or maybe, more accurately, a sabre.
Although his English is broken at best, in the postgame locker room, Shabanov indicated that the move is his signature, which he calls, “my Radulov” after now-retired Russian standout Alexander, who scored 144 times in nine NHL seasons. And hopefully, it’s something Wild fans will see more of as the season rolls along.
It was a night when Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov was playing in his 400th career game. And while a game-winner from the marquee Russian on the team would have been the storybook ending to what ended up being a 3-2 overtime loss, Wild coach John Hynes was happy to see the contributions from Yurov and Shabanov as they both work to develop chemistry with Kaprizov and others.
“I think Yurov and Shabanov are two guys we need to step up and play well for us,” said the coach outside the postgame locker room at KeyBank Center. “I think they have. The both had good training camps and exhibition games, good first few games.”
Yurov, 22, was also a standout in Russia before making the jump to the NHL last season. It was not always easy, adjusting to the pace and the more physical nature of the North American game, but by season’s end, he had a dozen goals in 73 games.
Minnesota Wild right wing Danila Yurov, right, celebrates with left wing Blake Coleman after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
“We tried to play our game the whole game,” Yurov said of the leadup to his power-play goal. “It was a great couple shifts before power play and after power play. I think we could score more in this shift.”
Perhaps his biggest challenges were in the faceoff circle, but Yurov made winning draws his summer school assignment, and has been better at gaining possession so far. On Tuesday in Buffalo, Yurov won 44% of his faceoffs, which is still not where he wants or needs to be, but is a step up from his struggles last season.
To see more than one of the team’s quartet of Russians get on the board this early in the season, even in a game where the Wild felt like a point was left on the table, was an optimistic sign.
“It was nice to see them be able to get on the board tonight because I think they’ve had multiple opportunities in prior games and it didn’t go in for them,” Hynes said.