Kirill Kaprizov Skated Monday and Looked Great

Kirill Kaprizov has been injured and out of the Minnesota Wild lineup for about a month. Matt Boldy and others have stepped up during his absence but, in a loss over the weekend vs Las Vegas, the Wild showed how much they need their superstar back, come playoff time.

Kirill Kaprizov gets back on the ice.

On Monday morning, Kirill took a big step in making that a reality when he got back on the ice with Wild skating coach, Andy Ness, for the first time since his injury. How did he look? The way only Kirill Kaprizov can. Like a skating savant.

Injured or not, Kirill Kaprizov is such a gifted skater #mnwild. https://t.co/FvMAAyLwWw pic.twitter.com/epOgmPLuBt

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) April 3, 2023

Kaprizov has about 2 weeks to get back on the ice, if he wants to return for the Wild’s first playoff game, though Bill Guerin and Dean Evason would prefer to get him a little bit of regular season action, first (The Athletic).

Evason seemed happy about how the skating session went, when he spoke with media on Monday, calling it part a part of Kaprizov’s normal injury progression. Kirill has been begging the training staff to let him back on the ice for a couple of weeks and it sounds like they’re still entertaining the idea of bringing him to Pittsburgh for Thursday’s matchup against the Penguins.

????️ Evason with an update on Kirill. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/BNliHHZOWR

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 3, 2023

Tight Central Division race

There are six total games remaining on the Wild’s schedule. They currently sit one point ahead of both the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars in the Central. Winning the division would match them up vs the Seattle Kracken or Winnipeg Jets, in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Finishing in 2nd or 3rd would land them the much more formidable Avs or Stars.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan