Kirill Kaprizov makes Wild history in win over Blue Jackets
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 18: Cam Talbot #33 of the Columbus Blue Jackets defends his net against Kirill Kaprizov #97 of the Minnesota Wild in the first period at Grand Casino Arena on October 18, 2026 in St Paul, Minnesota. ((Photo by David Berding/Getty Images))
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Wild beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 Sunday night at Grand Casino Arena, and Kirill Kaprizov made some history in the process.
Kaprizov gets to 10 goals in 9th game
The backstory:
Kaprizov scored a power-play goal at the 3:06 mark of the second period to give the Wild a 2-1 lead over the Blue Jackets. The goal was assisted by Max Shabanov and Joel Eriksson Ek.
Kaprizov became the first player in the NHL to 10 goals this season, just nine games in. He’s the fastest player in Wild franchise history to get to 10 regular season goals. It’s the first time the Wild has had a player get to double-digit goals in fewer than 12 games.
The assist was also the 200th career for Eriksson Ek. He’s one of 12 players in franchise history with at least 200 career assists.
Kaprizov joins elite company
Why you should care:
Kaprizov became the sixth active player in the NHL to get to 10 regular season goals in nine games or fewer. He joins a group that includes Auston Matthews (six games in 2018-19), Alex Ovechkin (eight games in 2017-18), David Pastrnak (nine games in 2019-20 and 2018-19), Nikita Kucherov (nine games in 2017-18) and Sidney Crosby (nine games in 2016-17).
The Wild improves to 6-2-1 on the season, despite being without top defensemen Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon, who was placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury.
What's next:
The Wild starts a five-game road trip at the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night.
With Sunday night's win, the Wild move to 4-0 at home on the season, their best home start since the 2016-17 season. Overall, they have won eight home games in a row dating back to last season.