Streaking Wild top West after 4-1 victory over Sharks

Matt Blewett/Imagn Images By John Shipley / St. Paul Pioneer Press November 06, 2026 at 10:05 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? ST. PAUL — Two teams passed in the night on Friday at Grand Casino Arena, one going one way, the other going another. Neither changed course. Kirill Kaprizov scored his NHL-leading 16th goal and had the primary assist on Maxim Shabanov’s sixth tallly, and the streaking Wild held off San Jose, 4-1, to send the Sharks to their sixth loss in seven games. ADVERTISEMENT Quinn Hughes and Zach Bogosian also scored goals for the Wild, who extended their points streak to seven games (6-0-1) and took sole possession first place in the Western Conference. San Jose, meanwhile, came into Friday’s game licking the wounds of a 3-6-1 skid. After a 7-2 loss to the Kings on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the Sharks called a players-only meeting to address the way the team had been playing. Whatever was said in the visitors’ locker room at Crypto.com Arena, it seemed to do some good. Despite starting the game flat-footed, and falling behind 1-0 on Kaprizov’s 5-on-3 power-play goal, the Sharks found their legs and for two periods took much of the play to Minnesota. Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt made several big stops, including one on a 2-on-1 by Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith to keep the Wild’s lead, but the Sharks finally got on the board on a deflection by Celebrini at 12:17 of the second period. Celebrini won his faceoff and immediately went to the net front, where he deflected a shot from the point by Dmitry Orlov over the right shoulder of Wallstedt to make it 1-1. Less than a minute later, San Jose’s Jacob Trouba threw Matt Boldy to the ice while creating traffic in front of Wallstedt and was called for interference. Forty-eight seconds later, Kaprizov sent a shot through the circles for Shabanov, who lunged to poke the puck past goaltender Yaroslav Askarov for a 2-1 lead at 14:15. MORE MINNESOTA WILD COVERAGE: Pro Tough lineup decisions coming as Wild get closer to full health 1d ago · By Jess Myers / St. Paul Pioneer Press Pro Wild's Brock Faber back on the practice rink 2d ago · By Jess Myers / St. Paul Pioneer Press Pro By scoring first, the Wild have made the road more friendly 2d ago · By Jess Myers / St. Paul Pioneer Press The Wild kept the play in the Sharks’ end to start the third, and Hughes found the back of the net at the 6:55 mark. Defended by Celebrini in the high slot, Hughes skated free and took position above the left circle. His wrist shot through scattered traffic found the net at the far top corner to make it 3-1. ADVERTISEMENT Wallstedt finished with 28 saves. After stopping a goal with his left skate on a San Jose rush midway through the third period, the crowd chanted, he was serenaded with chants of “Wall-E, Wall-E, Wall-E!” Bogosian scored after corralling a rebound on the right boards and throwing it on net. The puck hit the high far post and clanked in to make it 4-1. Kaprizov scored his league-leading 16th goal after drawing a tripping penalty 28 seconds into a man advantage. He scored 28 seconds later, one-timing a cross-pass from Hughes past Askarov for a 1-0 lead 7:55 into the first period. The Sharks killed the rest of the second penalty. The Wild play the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second of back-to-backs on Saturday at GCA. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Text Example ____________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags MINNESOTA WILD HOCKEY Listen to this article Conversation ADVERTISEMENT What To Read Next Pro Timberwolves rally to snap Pelicans' 4-game streak 14h ago · By Field Level Media Pro How late surge made playoffs possible for Minnesota United 19h ago · By Andy Greder / St. Paul Pioneer Press Pro Vikings star Justin Jefferson breaks silence about offensive struggles 20h ago · By Dane Mizutani / St. Paul Pioneer Press ADVERTISEMENT Get Local Must Reads Moorhead How will vacant Moorhead City Council, Moorhead School Board seats be filled? 6h ago · By Ingrid Harbo North Dakota Driver charged in fatal Cass County crash settles Grand Forks cases 18h ago · By Matt Henson Business Sisters developing Kindro app to help users find their chosen family 6h ago · By Stephanie Dickerson Lifestyle What if this winter’s forecast holds true? 5h ago · By Don Kinzler