ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Kirill Kaprizov gave the Minnesota Wild a spot in the NHL's October spotlight alongside two more players who opened the season on record-setting runs.
How the NHL picked October's stars
The NHL on Sunday named Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid first star, Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov second star and Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov third star for October, presented by GEICO. All three helped push their teams to strong starts in the standings.
Local perspective:
Kaprizov finished October with 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 points in 15 games. The Wild went 9-3-3 for 21 points, and moved into first place in the Central Division.
Kaprizov's 14 goals matched the Wild record for any calendar month, a mark he first set in March 2022. No NHL player had scored that many goals in a single October since Alex Ovechkin had 14 in 2009.
By the numbers:
McDavid led the league with 27 assists and 35 points in 13 October games as Edmonton went 10-2-1 during the month and reached the top of the Western Conference standings. His 27 assists were the most ever by a player in a single October, and his 35 points ranked third-most in league history for the month.
McDavid also had at least one assist in every October appearance, extending his season-opening assist streak to 14 games and breaking the previous league record of 12. Through 14 games, the 29-year-old had a league-best 8 goals and 29 assists for 37 points.
Timeline:
On Oct. 10, Kaprizov recorded his seventh career hat trick in a 3-goal, 1-assist, 4-point game at Florida. It said he scored in 10 of his 15 October contests and finished among the league leaders in even-strength goals, game-winning goals, points, even-strength points, power-play goals, shots on goal and average ice time among forwards.
Kaprizov scored his 15th goal of the season Sunday, an empty-net tally, in the Wild's 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals.
What's next:
Kaprizov began November with 244 goals and 255 assists for 499 points in 412 career NHL games, all with Minnesota. Mikko Koivu is the only player with at least 500 points for the Wild since the franchise began play in 2000-01.
The Source: The Minnesota Wild and NHL provided information for this story in a news release.