Kirill Kaprizov wants to lead Wild over the Golden Knights

Sometimes Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes wishes his star player Kirill Kaprizov would come off the ice sooner after practice.

But Kaprizov lingers, often for half an hour or more, and takes more shots from all angles. Hynes fears Kaprizov will tire himself out, but also knows the extra work will pay off in games when Kaprizov scores with the same shots he practices so much.

Kaprizov and the Wild will look to stay hot when they host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Minnesota is looking for its second win in as many days after picking up a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Kaprizov scored two goals in this game, bringing his total to 20 goals this season.

“The consistency with which he plays at a high level night after night has been truly impressive,” Hynes said. “He is a guy who leads our team both on and off the ice. Letting him play at the level he’s playing at helps the team move forward.”

Vegas will also take a short break after losing 6-3 on the road to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. The Golden Knights have won their last four games, including a 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev said he and his teammates were glad they were able to get a quick start against the Wild. This allowed them to carry their frustration over to the next game in the short term rather than dwelling on a one-sided defeat.

“It’s like a little wake-up call,” Barbashev said. “We just have to get back to our normal game. On the flight to Minny we’ll regroup and try to go out there and play better.”

“A really good team. This trip against Winnipeg, Edmonton and Minny is pretty tough. We just have to turn the page and get better.”

The Golden Knights could call on Ilya Samsonov one night after Adin Hill gave up six goals on 34 shots against Edmonton. Samsonov is 6-3-1 this season with a goals-against average of 3.16 and a save percentage of .896.

In two career games against the Wild, Samsonov is 2-0-0 with a 2.48 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

Minnesota’s goaltending picture is less clear after the team urgently recalled Jesper Wallstedt from the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Iowa following the game. Wallstedt’s promotion means either Filip Gustavsson or Marc-Andre Fleury is dealing with something that could result in him being inactive on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Wallstedt appeared in three games for the Wild last season. He went 2-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA and a .897 save percentage.

If Wallstedt takes the lead, it will be his first meeting with the Golden Knights.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said his team had to fight hard against the Wild.

“They are a good defensive team. “So if you can react strongly to pucks down low and get to the inside ice, that’s what you have to do,” Cassidy said. “And we could face another hot goalkeeper. We did that the other night in Winnipeg and we finally got it right in the end. …

“If we can do that and bring the same offensive energy, we should be fine.”

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