The Minnesota Wild season is officially over. The Savages lost to the Dallas Stars in six games and were knocked out of the Stanley Cup in the first round. But the outcome of the confrontation cannot be called sensational or unpredictable. The victory of “Dallas” was read: the “stars” are objectively more balanced than the “Wild”, and of all the possible rivals in the Western Conference, the Stars were perhaps the most uncomfortable for the club from St. Paul. Most North American journalists even before the start of the playoffs gave their preference to the “Dallas” and were not mistaken.
But what really surprised me in the Wild vs. Stars series was Kirill Kaprizov's performance. One of the main NHL superstars in six games was marked by only one effective action — a goal in the first meeting. After that, the Russians were overcome by drought. The media were not too lazy and calculated the exact time during which the leader of the “savages” could not score points (329 minutes and 1 second) “Kirill Kaprizov is lost. Help me find Kirill Kaprizov,” such comments are now unmeasured on social networks. Moreover, both in the North American segment and in Russia.
Or is there nothing surprising in the failure of Kaprizov in the playoffs?
First, again note the level of the opponent, “Minnesota”. “Dallas” in itself is a powerful and, again, balanced team that will bring a lot of problems to absolutely any NHL club. In this regard, it is impossible not to single out the role of Peter Debour. The head coach of the Stars is known for his systemic hockey. No wonder under his leadership, “New Jersey Devils” and “San Jose Sharks” reached the finals of the Stanley Cup. With regard to Kirill Kaprizov, the Canadian specialist, apparently, has a special antidote. If we take into account the series of the current playoffs and the Stanley Cup 2021, when Debur led the Vegas Golden Knights, then both times Minnesota was eliminated from the Canadian teams in the first round, and Kaprizov himself scored only 4 points in 12 games. (3 goals and 1 assist). Coincidence or not, but the fact remains.
Secondly, it would be fair to pay attention to the physical condition of Cyril. The Russian striker missed one month due to a leg injury. It is also important that the forced pause came at the very end of the regular season — in the most important segment of the season before the playoffs. In preparation for the Stanley Cup, Kaprizov managed to play only two matches.
And although the Wild forward himself in a recent interview said that he feels great and that a past injury is not the reason for his low performance, it is still impossible to completely eliminate this factor. Here, one can also note the injury of Joel Eriksson Ek, an important partner of Kaprizov on the link. The Swede played only 19 seconds in the series against the Stars, and their combination with Kirill lost an important creative.
Thirdly, let's combine the first two points and come to a simple conclusion that Debour's «stars» managed to take Kaprizov out of his native orbit through forceful and even in some episodes of extremely tough struggle. Throughout the series, starting from the very first match of the confrontation, the Stars players did not spare the Russian striker and hit at every opportunity. Sometimes this led to punishments from the referees, but more often rudeness got away with “Dallas” from the hands. Especially Ryan Suter, a former Minnesota defenseman and one of the main villains of the current Wild squad and Kaprizov personally. Quite often Kirill himself was pissed off, and psychology, as you know, decides a lot in the playoffs.
Finally, due to forced personnel changes, Minnesota also changed the team's game model regarding its main forward. In six games in the series, the Caprices hit 17 shots on target, which is not much for one of the best and most effective shooters in the league. In the confrontation with the “Dallas”, the Russian had to try on the role of a playmaker and put a lot of emphasis on creation. On the one hand, the attempt to create a moment and bring partners to the transfer of a goal is commendable. On the other hand, it didn’t justify itself, as the final result shows.
“Kaprizov’s desire, his will, his creativity and search for moments in attack were really good. We just didn’t score as much as we would like,” noted the chief coach «Minnesota» Dean Evason.
Undoubtedly, in general terms, the season for Kirill Kaprizov turned out to be very eventful and impactful. The Russian, as expected, was at the forefront of his team, set a number of other club records and, obviously, would have broken the 50-goal mark in the championship, if not for an offensive injury at the end of the regular season. But failure in the Stanley Cup remains a huge fly in the ointment in a barrel of whimsical honey. But it is on performances in the playoffs that it is customary to give a final assessment. Alas.