Wild vs. Kraken: Kirill Kaprizov Scores 26 Seconds In and Blake Coleman Adds Two in a 5-1 Rout

Some fans at Climate Pledge Arena were still looking for their seats. Twenty-six seconds into Saturday night's game, Kirill Kaprizov was already alone on Joey Daccord, sweeping across the front of the net and chipping a backhand home while the Seattle goalie sprawled. Welcome to the building, everybody.

That opening scene set the tone for the whole night. Blake Coleman scored twice, Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and an assist, and the Minnesota Wild rolled past the Seattle Kraken 5-1 to snap a two-game slide. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 23 of 24 shots, and Seattle never got the game back on its terms.

Kaprizov Wastes No Time

Kaprizov's goal was the hockey version of a jump scare. He skated through the left circle, got behind Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn and had nothing but ice and a goalie in front of him. Eriksson Ek and Quinn Hughes drew the assists. Dunn owned it afterward. "It was a very untraditional forecheck," he said. "I know they're going to take off, and I need to be more aware and be that safety for our guys."

That was Kaprizov's 12th goal in 12 games, and it pulled him even with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead. A goal per game in October is the kind of pace that makes opposing coaches redraw their whiteboards.

Seattle Punches Back, Coleman Punches Harder

Seattle did not fold right away. At 10:13 of the first, one second after a Kraken power play expired, Brandon Montour fed Kaapo Kakko at the net front and Kakko slid it across to Berkly Catton. Catton's wrist shot hit Wallstedt's shoulder, banged off the post and went in for a 1-1 tie. It was Catton's third goal, and NHL.com noted it stretched his point streak to four games.

Then came the sequence that flipped the night. As the first period expired, Coleman crashed into Daccord while chasing the puck and went to the box for goaltender interference, according to the AP. Seattle got a full two minutes of power play to open the second and came away empty. Eleven seconds after Coleman's penalty ended, Matt Kiersted caught the Kraken in a bad line change and hit him with a stretch pass. Coleman went in alone and rang his shot off the right post and in at 2:11 for a 2-1 lead.

From penalty box villain to breakaway hero in about two minutes of game time. "Heads-up play by 'Kiers,'" Coleman said. "It's nice to get a bounce there."

Two Goals, 1:27 Apart

Minnesota put it away in the middle of the second. At 11:33, Olli Maatta fired a wrist shot from the point through traffic and past Daccord's glove for his first goal of the season, with Ryan Hartman assisting. At 13:00, Eriksson Ek won a race to a Matt Boldy rebound, half-fanned on it and watched the puck pop over Daccord and drift across the goal line. Not every goal needs to be pretty. That one was ugly and it still counted for a 4-1 lead.

Seattle coach Lane Lambert singled out that one. "I thought the fourth goal really hurt," he said. "It was just a short rebound there (from Daccord), especially after he had played very well during the penalty kill."

The Kraken pulled Daccord with 7:05 to play, an aggressive call down three, and Coleman cashed in an unassisted empty-netter at 16:24 to finish it.

Coleman, Kaprizov and the Quiet Hughes Show

Coleman logged 16:30, threw two hits and scored his third and fourth goals of the season, which is a pretty complete night for a player who also served a penalty. He gave credit to his linemates. "I thought we had some good looks as a line," he said.

Kaprizov finished with a goal and an assist in 17:54, setting up Eriksson Ek's goal as well. Eriksson Ek had his own two-point night, though Seattle won the faceoff battle against him and everybody else.

Hughes logged 22:49 and picked up an assist that NHL.com said gave him 499 career points. He also has points in 10 of Minnesota's 12 games. Wallstedt, making his 11th start of the season per the AP, posted a .958 save percentage.

On the other side, Daccord stopped 31 of 35 shots for an .886 save percentage. The AP noted it was his fourth straight start allowing at least three goals.

Turning Point: The Kill That Became a Breakaway

Tied 1-1, Seattle had a full power play to start the second period and the home crowd behind it. It produced nothing. Minnesota killed it, and Coleman scored 11 seconds after stepping out of the box. Seattle never pulled even again, and the special teams column tells the story: the Kraken went 0-for-3, the Wild 0-for-2.

Stats That Matter

• 26 seconds: How long it took Kaprizov to score his NHL-leading 12th goal.
• 36-24: Minnesota's edge in shots on goal.
• 41-22: Seattle's edge in faceoffs, good for 65.1 percent. The Kraken had the puck first all night and still lost by four.
• 0-for-5: The combined power plays. Every goal came at even strength or into an empty net.
• 6: Straight wins for Minnesota over Seattle. NHL.com says the Wild have points in seven in a row against the Kraken (6-0-1) dating to Oct. 12, 2024.

What It Means

Minnesota improves to 7-3-2 with 16 points and 3-3-2 on the road. The Wild had dropped the first two games of a five-game road trip (0-1-1), so this was a timely reset before they visit Vancouver on Sunday. "We wanted to come into the game and play determined, which I thought we did, play disciplined, and have good details in our game," coach John Hynes said.

Seattle falls to 7-4-1 with 15 points and 3-2-0 at home. The Kraken came in having won two straight with points in six of their previous seven (5-1-1), so this is more speed bump than crisis. They get a few days to regroup before hosting Toronto on Wednesday. "But at the end of the day, we have to generate a little bit more offensively," Lambert said.

Kaprizov Is Playing on Rookie Mode

Lambert gave the visitors their due. "They played a pretty sound, solid hockey game," he said. Translation: Minnesota kept everything to the outside and Seattle rarely got a clean look.

The bigger takeaway is Kaprizov, who is playing like someone switched his difficulty setting to rookie mode while everybody else is stuck on all-pro. Twelve goals in 12 games, a goal before the arena finished filling up and a share of the league lead. Seattle just happened to be the latest team standing in the way.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.