Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov returned to the ice Monday for the first time since March 8.
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The star player skated alone for about thirty minutes. He took the opportunity to do puck practice and fired several shots.
Kaprizov broke into action when he came into contact with Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley. Originally, the Wild had announced their skater would be staying on the sidelines for about a month.
“He’s making progress,” head coach Dean Evason said simply of Kaprizov after his side’s morning practice session.
At the moment, no date has been announced for the talented striker’s return. “We are trying to encourage patience in his case, even though he has been harassing our doctors for some time,” added the Wild pilot.
The Russian is still the first goalscorer for his team despite missing 11 games. He has struck 39 times and provided 35 assists for 74 points in 65 games so far in 2022-23.
However, The Wild did well even without Kaprizov. He went 7-2-2 in his absence. Before the evening’s National League games, Minnesota was first in the Central Division with 76 points overall.
A win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night would also allow the Wild to officially qualify for the next playoffs.
Separately, Evason announced that forward Mason Shaw’s 2022–23 season is over due to a knee ligament injury. The 25-year-old made his debut in the National League this season. He was mostly used in his team’s third or fourth row and amassed 17 points in 59 games.