A grizzled college hockey coach once said of his puck-moving but turnover-prone team captain: “He makes six big plays in every game. Three for us and three for them.”

The numbers aren’t quite that stark with Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov, but expected offensive prowess has been countered somewhat by giveaways during the team’s sluggish start. In Tuesday’s overtime loss to Winnipeg, an off-target pass by the Russian star ended up in possession of the Jets, and a few seconds later, the puck was in the Wild net as they lost their fourth in a row.

While Wednesday’s team skate at TRIA Rink was optional, Wild coach John Hynes said a conversation with Kaprizov was on his agenda before Pittsburgh came to visit on Thursday.

“I see a guy that’s highly competitive that wants to win, tha

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