Kirill Kaprizov changed little, but outcome was much better vs. Blues in Game 2

Kirill Kaprizov didn't want to make any adjustments.

Yes, the Blues stymied the superstar while blanking the Wild 4-0 in Game 1, a rarity after the winger racked up a franchise-record 108 points in the regular season. But Kaprizov wasn't planning to overhaul his approach.

"There were some chances that didn't go in for us," he said in Russian through a translator. "So, in Game 2, just try to stick to the same recipe, do the same thing, and obviously things worked."

Did they ever.

Kaprizov scored the Wild's first-ever playoff hat trick, helping the team even the best-of-seven series 1-1 against St. Louis with a 6-2 clapback on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.

"Just play the game," Kaprizov said.

With the performance, Kaprizov has already eclipsed his goal production from last year's postseason when he capitalized only twice in the seven-game matchup vs. the Golden Knights.

His first tally Wednesday came on the power play, a shot that hit the post then caromed into the net off Blues goalie Ville Husso. The finish ended up being the game-winner, but Kaprizov's next highlight was also key for the Wild.

St. Louis converted early in the third period to trail by only two goals and was upping the pressure before Kaprizov nixed the rally by redirecting in a pass from Mats Zuccarello at 11:47. Barely a minute later, he polished off the hat trick into an empty net.

This wasn't Kaprizov's first memorable effort against the Blues.

The 25-year-old surpassed the team's previous single season goals record when he recorded No. 43 at St. Louis in a 6-5 overtime loss on April 16.

"He's dynamic, speedy, shifty," Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. "He's got a good shot. He's opportunistic. He puts the puck in the back of the net when you give him a chance and makes you pay for it."

After going 0-for-6 in Game 1, the Wild power play was much more effective Wednesday with two goals in three opportunities.

Before Kaprizov scored in tight, the Wild's Frederick Gaudreau wired in a loose puck from a Jonas Brodin attempt.

"We just shot more," said winger Marcus Foligno, who was on the ice for Gaudreau's tally. "I thought we were more direct and made better passes on the tape, and we didn't really try to get too cute. [Ryan Hartman] got it back to Brods, and Brods didn't think twice or try to set it up. He shot it on net, and we had good traffic.

"Gauds follows up with the rebound. It's the second chances, but it's also just being more direct and putting pucks on net."

Injuries continue to pile up for the Blues on defense.

Eden Prairie's Nick Leddy didn't play Game 2 because of an upper-body injury. Then Robert Bortuzzo left Game 2 because of an upper-body injury after a shot hit him in the head.

"Scary, obviously," Parayko said. "I didn't see where it hit him at first, but once you know it hit him in the head, obviously that's really scary."

Marco Scandella, a Wild draft pick like Leddy, has yet to appear in the series because of a lower-body injury, and neither has Hibbing native and former Minnesota Duluth standout Scott Perunovich; he had wrist surgery in March.

Blues coach Craig Berube doesn't consider Perunovich a possibility and didn't have an answer if Leddy, Bortuzzo and Scandella were feeling better. St. Louis did recall defenseman Steven Santini from its American Hockey League affiliate on Thursday under emergency conditions.

"That's playoffs," Berube said. "There's injuries. Things happen. You've got to just battle. You've got to get different guys in there to do the job."