Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov on Monday each had hat-tricks and tied the franchise record with six points for the Minnesota Wild, who faced a three-goal deficit in the second period before storming back with six unanswered goals in a record-filled 10-7 victory over the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks.
“You could feel the way we were engaged in the game that there was no letdown,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “Whether it was 4-1 or 5-2, the mindset was still the same.”
Minnesota’s six scores in a span of 5 minutes, 45 seconds was the fastest such flurry in the NHL in 25 years, since Washington had six goals in 4:47 in a 10-1 win against Tampa Bay on Feb. 3, 1999.
Photo: AFP
Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov each had three assists.
Matt Boldy, Mats Zuccarello, Marco Rossi and Jonas Brodin also scored for the Wild, who set franchise goal records for a single game and a single period with seven scores in the third. They also registered their fastest four-goal stretch in team history, all on the power play in a span of 2:17 to take a 6-5 lead early in the third period.
Zuccarello scored on a 5-on-3 with 27 seconds left in the second period. The Wild switched goalies at the intermission from Filip Gustavsson to Marc-Andre Fleury and then they let loose as the sloppy and sluggish Canucks squandered a hat-trick by J.T. Miller.
“Even when they went up 7-5, 8-5, we still felt pretty comfortable,” Miller said. “At least our line, we were just in their zone every shift, and I think we felt like we had one of those nights where we could tie it up. Just such a weird game.”
With Miller, Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov each scoring three goals, this was the first regular season game with three hat-tricks since Nov. 8, 1992, when Mike Donnelly, Luc Robitaille and Jari Kurri all got one for the Los Angeles Kings in an 11-4 win over the San Jose Sharks.
The 16 total goals was the most in any game the Wild have played in.
“Stressful. Very stressful,” center Ryan Hartman said. “But fun.”
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