The buzz is building around Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov.
Could he score 50 goals this season? How about 60 or 70?
Kaprizov will look to continue his hot start to the season when Minnesota faces the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Wild will go for their fourth win in a row. They have at least one point in each of their past seven games and are 6-0-1 during that span.
Kaprizov has been a huge reason for Minnesota’s success. He collected a goal and three assists on Friday night in a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, and he has 16 goals and 14 assists in 18 games this season.
The Lightning also are looking to maintain a hot streak. They are 3-0-2 in their past five games and are coming off a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning with 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 15 games. Brandon Hagel is second on the scoring sheet with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 15 games.
Tampa Bay could turn to Andrei Vasilevskiy or Dennis Hildeby in net. Vasilevskiy is 8-3-1 with a 2.75 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage, and Hildeby is 2-0-1 with a 2.98 GAA and an .885 save percentage.
In 16 career games against Minnesota, Vasilevskiy is 7-7-2 with a 2.63 GAA. Hildeby has appeared in two career games against the Wild, going 1-0-0 with a 1.52 GAA.
Minnesota is expected to turn to Calvin Pickard in net against the Lightning. He is 1-1-0 with a 3.50 GAA and an .833 save percentage this season.
In three career games against the Lightning, Pickard is 0-0-3 with a 3.27 GAA and an .893 save percentage. He has allowed 10 goals on even strength and three on the power play.
Wild defenseman Brock Faber is still out because of a fractured skull he suffered when struck by the puck during a preseason game, but he is closer to returning. Faber has returned to the ice in practice and will travel with the team next week for a road trip starting Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens, and he will wear protective ear guards on his helmet.
“It could have been a lot worse if, one, I got hit harder in that spot and, two, if I didn’t get the medical attention that I did,” Faber said. “I’m so glad to just put it in the past. It’s so good to be back.
“If it would have got me a couple centimeters lower, it just would have hit me in the ear, and I’d had to maybe get a couple stitches on my ear. If it would have hit me a couple inches or centimeters higher, it hits me in the helmet and I’m fine. The area where I got hit, only a puck could fit there. And it just so happened that it hit me right there.”
Wild forward Michael McCarron is questionable to play against the Lightning after he left Friday night’s game because of an injury. McCarron has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 18 games.
