- Kaprizov had a goal and two assists in Minnesota’s 6-1 Game 1 rout of Dallas
- His .62 career playoff goals-per-game now edges Wayne Gretzky’s .59
- Read below for video of the snipe that tied Parise’s franchise mark
Kirill Kaprizov does not need another career milestone to cement his place as the face of the Minnesota Wild.
He added one on Saturday anyway.
With one goal and two assists in Minnesota’s 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 1, Kaprizov pushed his career playoff goals-per-game rate past Wayne Gretzky’s. Kaprizov now sits at .62, with 16 goals in 26 postseason contests. Gretzky finished at .59 across 208 games.
Per Hockey Reference, the names still ahead of Kaprizov read like a Hall of Fame plaque. Mario Lemieux leads at .71, followed by Mike Bossy at .66, Barry Pederson at .65, Maurice Richard at .621, and Cam Neely at .613. Every active player trails, with Nathan MacKinnon, Jake Guentzel, and Leon Draisaitl all chasing from below.
The goal carried a second piece of franchise weight. Kaprizov cut across the right circle and wristed a cross-ice feed from Ryan Hartman past Jake Oettinger shortside 56 seconds into the second period. That snipe tied Zach Parise at 16 career playoff goals, the most in Wild history. One more and Kaprizov owns the record alone.
You can watch the full video of Minnesota’s Game 1 rout below.
The video also catches Matt Boldy’s two-goal night and Jesper Wallstedt’s 27-save playoff debut, both of which our Game 1 recap covers in full. Kaprizov closed the regular season with 45 goals and 89 points and looks ready to pick up right where he left off.
Playoff runs can flatten these rates in a hurry. A dry series from Kaprizov, and the order shuffles again. Staying ahead of Gretzky in any career stat, even for a moment, is rare air for a 28-year-old whose postseason resume still fits on a single page.
