GLENDALE, Ariz., — Arizona, meet Kirill Kaprizov.
The Coyotes became the latest team in the West Division to get an ice-level view of the Wild rookie phenom and like he has so far in his young NHL career, Kaprizov put on a show — setting up two goals, including a highlight-reel sequence, in the 5-1 rout Friday in front of 2,541 at Gila River Arena that snapped the Wild's two-game slide.
After a pointless start to this road trip, Kaprizov's line with Mats Zuccarello and Victor Rask rediscovered its chemistry, with Kaprizov and Zuccarello especially in a groove.
Kaprizov scooped up a Coyotes faceoff win and fed the puck to Zuccarello for a blistering shot over goalie Antti Raanta's glove to start the scoring parade 4 minutes, 27 seconds into the first period.
Defenseman Brad Hunt, in a rare appearance, followed that up with his first goal of the season — a floater from the blue line that squeaked through Raanta's pads at 13:18.
And then just 1:09 later, Kaprizov had the play of the night when he looked to be going for a wrap-around but instead dished off a no-look, behind-the-back pass to a wide-open Nick Bjugstad for the tap-in goal.
Kaprizov's 19 points lead the Wild and NHL rookies, and his 13 assists are also tops among rookies. He has 10 points in his last nine games.
Only three rookies in Wild history have had more multi-point efforts than Kaprizov's five, with the 23-year-old closing in on Kurtis Foster's record (7).
As for Zuccarello, he has 13 points over his past nine outings. All four of his goals this season have opened the scoring for the Wild.
Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno, who assisted on Hunt's tally, combined on another goal in the second when Foligno sprung Greenway for a breakaway that Greenway buried five-hole at 5:08 of the second period after going to the bench to retrieve a stick.
Each player ended up with a goal and assist in the game, and Foligno is up to 10 points over his last seven games — including six on his season-long three-game point streak this road trip, which wraps up Saturday with another matchup against the Coyotes.
Raanta totaled 22 saves, and Kaapo Kahkonen had 24; Arizona didn't ruin his shutout bid until 4:59 into the third period, a shot just under the crossbar by Clayton Keller.
After that, Kevin Fiala tacked on a fifth Wild goal with 1:14 to go — a slick finish after deking between two defenders with one hand on his stick.
Overall, Kahkonen has won six in a row — stopping 152 of 162 shots in that span.
The Wild went 0 for 4 on the power play, and the Coyotes were 0 for 3.
