Wild’s Power Play Lifts Team to 3-1 Win Over the Kings

The Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings faced off for the third time this season and second time in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Monday evening, Mar. 17. The Kings had a healthy roster, while the Wild were still without the same three as the past few weeks: Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kirill Kaprizov. 

Filip Gustavsson had his fourth consecutive start in net for the Wild while Darcy Kuemper also had his fourth consecutive start for the Kings. The game started out in favor of the Kings, but the Wild fought back and found success in the power play as they won 3-1. This moved the Wild’s record to 38-25-5 and the Kings to 36-21-9. 

Game Recap 

The Wild took an early penalty, which gave the Kings the chance to capitalize on the power play. Adrian Kempe scored the goal, while Kevin Fiala and Drew Doughty recorded the assists that made it 1-0 early in the period. Despite some strong chances for both teams, that was the only goal of the first, and the Kings took the lead into the second. 

In the second period the Wild found a way through also on the power play. Ryan Hartman won the faceoff back to Jared Spurgeon on the point, Spurgeon took the shot and Hartman tipped it past Kuemper to make it 1-1. That was the only goal of the second and the teams went into the third tied 1-1.