Kirill Kaprizov lands atop NHL scoring list as the Wild defeats Anaheim to keep up torrid start

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Minnesota Wild doesn’t just have the NHL’s top scorer.

They also have the player tied for the best shooting percentage.

Kirill Kaprizov (another three-point effort) and Marcus Foligno (1-for-2 on shots) showcased their respective strengths in a 5-2 dismissal of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night at Honda Center that was a 32-save victory for goaltender Filip Gustavsson.

This lifted the Wild to 10-2-2, and they’ve won five of their past six games and nine of the past 11.

After running away from San Jose 5-2 the previous night, the Wild picked up where they left off, scoring most of their offense in the first period.

Jake Middleton corralled a Joel Eriksson Ek pass and tucked a shot inside the near post 7 minutes, 31 seconds after the opening faceoff.

Just 1:40 later, Foligno eyed a pass to Middleton during a 2-on-1 but instead kept the shot for himself, burying his third goal of the season on just his fifth shot.

Foligno, who last registered a shot in the 7-5 loss at Philadelphia on Oct. 26 when he scored twice, had one more attempt and sits 3-for-6 on the season for a 50% shooting percentage that’s tied atop the league.

The veteran winger is now one point shy of 300 for his NHL career, and with a pass on the play, Frederick Gaudreau pushed his career-best point and assist streaks to six games.

Then at 12:32, Kaprizov flung the puck over Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal (25 saves) during a delayed penalty against Anaheim.

Early in the second period, Wild defenseman Declan Chisholm hooked the Ducks’ Trevor Zegras on a breakaway, and Zegras was awarded a penalty shot that he sailed over the net.

But the difference in each side’s execution didn’t match the action on the ice.

Anaheim kept generating quality offensive-zone time, and Gustavsson was airtight until 2:16 into the third period, when Robby Fabbri spoiled Gustavsson’s shutout bid with a blocker-side snapper.

But this was still a bounce-back performance for Gustavsson, who hadn’t played since the 5-1 stinker against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

He was especially clutch during a four-minute power play for the Ducks after Fabbri’s goal in the third. Gustavsson’s seven saves shorthanded helped the Wild go 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.

In the aftermath of that four-minute PK, the Wild returned to the other end of the rink, with Kaprizov setting up Marco Rossi for a one-timer at 14:20.

That assist extended Kaprizov’s multipoint game streak on the road to eight games, which tied Nashville’s Roman Josi (2021-22) and Steven Stamkos (2017-18) for the longest road multipoint streak among active players. The last player with a longer run was Wayne Gretzky, who had a nine-game tear in 1990-91.

Kaprizov picked up his third point and sixth in his past two games after nudging in a loose puck on the power play (1-for-2) with 2:16 to go for his team-leading ninth goal before a deflection by Mason McTavish bounced over Gustavsson with 13 seconds left.

Kaprizov’s 27 points lead the NHL.

He has one more point than Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon despite starting the Wild’s road trip four points back of MacKinnon.