Kaprizov: 'Fire's been lit' for Wild to have playoff breakthrough
Kirill Kaprizov is determined as ever to win a playoff series in 2024 after the Minnesota Wild bowed out in the opening round for the fourth consecutive year this past spring.
"I'm staying calm but for sure extremely motivated, extremely hungry, and the fire's been lit for sure," he told NHL.com's Jessi Pierce. "Every year, you learn from your mistakes. You take those losses, and you learn from them. You try to get better."
The Wild's most recent series win came in 2015, and the club has qualified for the postseason in all but one season since. Kaprizov's been on the team for the last three playoff disappointments.
Minnesota's 2023 elimination saw it surrender a 2-1 series lead to the Dallas Stars, who outscored the Wild 11-3 in Games 4-6 to win the series. Kaprizov was limited to a single goal in the series after returning from a significant lower-body injury with two games left in the regular season.
The 25-year-old winger has led the Wild in scoring in each of his three NHL seasons, including 40 goals and 75 points in only 67 games in 2022-23 - but he says individual success isn't his focus.
"I'm not a big fan of guessing or setting expectations ahead of time," he said. "I'm going to show up and do the best I can, and I expect the team to do the same, to be the best that we can, and that's what I expect from myself and from the team. Obviously, the goal is to make the playoffs and do really well in playoffs, and that's what we're going to strive for."
The Wild begin their regular season Oct. 12 against the Florida Panthers.