Where would the Minnesota Wild be in the standings if Kirill Kaprizov hadn't missed the first two weeks of January after getting cross-checked in his back against Winnipeg on Dec. 30?
With 10 goals and seven assists in his last 10 games, the Wild are 7-3 with Kaprizov in the lineup. In the seven games he missed with the reported broken ribs, the Wild went 1-6 and scored a combined nine goals in the six losses.
His recent efforts earned him the NHL's First Star of the Week award on Monday. Kaprizov had five goals and three assists in four games over the past week.
Although Kaprizov was just one of a handful of key Wild players who missed time to start January, he was on a roll before the injury and his scoring ability was sorely missed for two weeks.
He had scored five goals in the five games up to the injury and since his return to the lineup he's added five goals in five games, all of them in the past two contests, which were Wild road wins over the Panthers and Hurricanes.
Minnesota (20-21-5) is six points behind Nashville for the second wild card in the Western Conference. Kaprizov and the Wild are back in action Tuesday in St. Paul against the Washington Capitals.
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