Penalty kill falters again, Coyotes lose to the Minnesota Wild

Mar 12, 2024, 7:56 PM

Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals and assisted on another, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves as the Minnesota Wild earned their fourth victory in five games, 4-1 over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Kaprizov scored an empty-netter with 2:32 to play, firing the puck the length of the ice to seal the win. Arizona had pulled goalie Karel Vejmelka with just under three minutes remaining.

Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno also scored for Minnesota. Foligno’s goal was an empty-netter after Arizona pulled Vejmelka a second time in the final minutes.

Nick Bjugstad scored for the Coyotes, who have lost four of five.

Hartman’s power-play goal put the Wild up 2-1 with 1:44 left in the second period. He took a centering pass from Kaprizov to beat Vejmelka. Hartman’s goal was his second in as many games and his 17th on the season.

Vejmelka made 27 saves but fell to 8-17-2 on the season.

Kaprizov’s 32nd goal of the season put the Wild up 1-0 at the 6:29 mark of the first period. He fired a shot from the left circle that made its way through traffic, extending his point streak to five games. Kaprizov has six goals and three assists during that stretch.

Arizona answered in the second period when Bjugstad beat defenseman Jonas Brodin and snapped a shot past Fleury. The Minnesota native has four goals in two games in St. Paul this year after his hat trick against the Wild in January.

Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton missed the game with a lower-body injury. Hayton had two assists in Arizona’s loss at Chicago on Sunday.

The Wild celebrated Pride Night. Several players, including Fleury and defenseman Jon Merrill, wore Pride tape on their sticks during warmups. Merrill was named Twin Cities Pride’s Ally of the Year.