Minnesota Wild’s Russian forward Kirill Kaprizov was recognized as the first star of the game day in the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season.
The second star of the day was New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat. The Canadian player scored the winning goal in overtime in the match against Dallas Stars (3:2). The third star was Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon. The American player stopped 27 of 28 shots in the match against Tampa Bay Lightning (2:1).
In the match against the Carolina Hurricanes on January 22, Kaprizov scored a hat trick.
The Russian forward played 39 games in the NHL this season and scored 18 goals and 25 assists. Kaprizov is by far the team’s top scorer in the regular season.
Kaprizov became a player for Minnesota in 2020, moving there from the capital’s CSKA. In the summer of 2022, Russians experienced problems returning to the United States. He could not return to the country because he did not have a work visa. Kaprizov tried to do this, first through Dubai, then through an island nation in the Caribbean, but was rejected twice.
Previously reportedKaprizov moved up to fourth place on the list of the best snipers in Minnesota history.