LOS ANGELES - The Minnesota Wild record book is under construction, and Kirill Kaprizov is the foreman guiding all the changes.
After becoming the franchise leader in goals and points for a rookie season earlier in the week, Kaprizov again made history Friday night when he scored for a fourth straight game – his most dazzling finish of the season in a two-goal performance that helped the Wild hold off the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at Staples Center and push the team's win streak to six games.
This run is tied for the longest of the season, lifting the Wild to its 30th win in its 46th game.
In an impressive display of speed, skill and savviness, Kaprizov passed the puck through his legs to himself as he breezed by Los Angeles defender Mikey Anderson and drove to the middle where he wired the puck through goalie Calvin Petersen at 7 minutes, 44 seconds of the first period to open the scoring.
Kaprizov became the first Wild rookie to post a four-game goal streak and 20-goal season – this after he surpassed Marian Gaborik's rookie goal and points records when he scored No.19 on Wednesday and registered his 37th point on Monday.
With one second to go in the first, the Kings tied the game. Trevor Moore was left unattended in front of the net to bury a one-timer past Cam Talbot, who racked up 40 saves to improve to 6-0-1 over his last seven starts. Petersen had 20 saves.
Kaprizov restored the Wild's lead in the second on a power play.
This time, he flexed his patience – waiting and stalling and delaying until flinging the puck by Petersen's glove from inside the right faceoff circle at 6:41.
The goal was his seventh this season on the power play, a new Wild rookie record, and sealed his third career multi-goal game. Overall, the power play went 1-for-2 and has 16 goals in the last 12 games, leading the NHL in power play goals in that span. The Kings went 0-for-3.
Kevin Fiala's assist on Kaprizov's power play goal extended his point streak to three games.
Not only does Kaprizov continue to lead the Wild in goals (21) and points (40), but he still paces all NHL rookies in goals and points as the frontrunner for the Calder Trophy, which recognizes the rookie of the year.
Kaprizov has also been a handful for the Kings, especially at Staples Center. This is where he made his NHL debut, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during a three-point night. In total, he finished the regular-season series vs. Los Angeles with six goals – which is tied for the second-most goals by a rookie against the Kings in NHL history.
But Los Angeles didn't retreat after falling behind for a second time.
The Kings kept testing Talbot, racking up an eye-popping 20 shots in the second period alone – another active night after Talbot faced 40 shots the previous game at Arizona.
Nico Sturm supplied a timely insurance goal at 11:19 of the third when he polished off a wrap-around attempt by Nick Bonino. The goal was Sturm's second in as many games, and he has three points on this road trip, which wraps up Saturday at San Jose. With the assist, Bonino registered the 300th point of his career.
Sturm's goal turned into the game-winner after Kings captain Anze Kopitar scored on his wrap-around try 4:43 to go in the third. Joel Eriksson Ek scored into an empty net with 10 seconds remaining.
Talbot weathered the rest of Los Angeles' pressure and is now 5-0-2 in his last seven road appearances. He's also 13-2-2 over his past 17 starts.
The last time the Wild (30-13-3) won six in a row was Feb.18-27.
