DETROIT — Kirill Kaprizov completed the sixth hat trick of his NHL career on the power play with 1:51 remaining to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
The Wild led 4-1 before allowing Detroit to score three times in the third period and tie it. A penalty on Patrick Kane paved the way for Kaprizov to score his third goal of the game.
“It hurts,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said of Kane's penalty to The Athletic's Max Bultman. “We get the comeback, and we take a penalty 150 feet from our net, not even in the play. It hurts.”
The Red Wings led the Atlantic Division and were tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference the morning of Jan. 25, with a 12-point playoff cushion. They've lost 12 of 20 games since to fall out of a spot with five left to play.
“We’ve got to find a way to not let it weigh on us,” Red Wings forward Andrew Copp said to Bultman after the game. “We’ve got to (find a way to) free ourselves up. As soon as you let the outside noise and you guys (media) start to impact what we’re doing in here, that’s when issues start to happen. So, got to find a way to have fun with it. Play free. Think of these as opportunities, instead of, ‘what’s going to happen?’ Little bit of that going on, and we’ve got to try and channel that fun and that jam, and we’ve got five games left.”
Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello each had an assist on the go-ahead goal. Vladimir Tarasenko and Boldy each scored for the Wild after Albert Johansson had a goal in the first.
J.T. Compher, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Kane scored on Filip Gustavsson to rally back. Gustavsson finished with 18 saves, while Detroit's Cam Talbot allowed five goals on 20 shots.
Up next
Wild: Host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
Red Wings: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
— With files from Sportsnet Staff
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