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 Center Anze Kopitar scored his first goal of the season, lifting the
Kings to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Wild at Staples Center.
Kopitar delivered at 2:19 of the extra period, gathering a pass from
Tanner Pearson and firing a winner past goaltender Darcy Kuemper as
the Kings (1-3-0) ended a three-game skid.
"It's definitely a big step for us," Kings forward Jeff Carter said.
"The first two games were pretty much a wash for us. We didn't
really get anything out of them. I'm glad we came out with a better
mindset right from that. We played more our style of game and when
we do that usually good things happen."
Goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 25 of 26 shots for the Kings.
Kuemper stopped 35 of 37 shots as the Wild (3-0-1) had its
three-game winning streak stopped.
Center Tyler Toffoli put the Kings on the board for the first time
in two games, fielding a pass from left winger Milan Lucic, who
recorded his first assist as a King. Toffoli buried a shot past
Kuemper for a power-play goal and 1-0 lead at 1:13 of the second
period. It was Toffoli's second goal this season. It also ended an
0-for-14 drought on power-play goals.
Minnesota tied the score in the third. The captain, Mikko Koivu,
cashed in a rebound on a miss by left winger Zach Parise for a
power-play goal at 5:37 of the period. For Koivu, it was his second
goal of the season.
It stayed that way until Kopitar scored in overtime.
"A lot of times that first one is the hardest to get," Milan said.
"You saw here tonight how difficult it was once again to get that
victory. Obviously, Quick was real good for us today to keep us in
it, especially in the third period. For us, I thought our game was a
full, 60-minute effort was much, much better."
The Wild were coming off a 4-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes in
Phoenix on Thursday night. They appeared to be a bit weary in the
first two periods before increasing their intensity in the third.
Wild coach Mike Yeo said he knew the Kings would be tough to beat.
"We knew what we were going to face tonight, a winless team," Yeo
said. "It's not like they're a team you would expect to be winless
at this point. We knew we were coming into a hornet's nest. We
definitely weren't on top of it but I'm very proud and pleased with
how we responded in the third period."
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Los Angeles outshot Minnesota 16-5 in the opening period and 16-9
after two for a 32-14 edge. However, the Kings weren't able to
capitalize because they frequently misfired and fumbled attempts
around the net.
That had been the case for the Kings in their previous three games,
when they managed just two goals and allowed 12 in losses to the San
Jose Sharks, the Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks.
While the Kings had struggled, the Wild came into the contest as one
of four unbeaten NHL clubs. They had rolled to victories over the
Avalanche, St. Louis Blues and the Coyotes.
"We came out strong. Obviously, we were one goal behind and we
recognized that," Koivu said. "We didn't play badly but we know we
can play a little bit better and ge more offensive like we did in
the third."
Kings rookie Derek Forbort made his NHL debut. Forbort attempted a
shot in 11:33 of ice time. Forbort also served two minutes for a
tripping penalty in the second period.
The Kings have never had an 0-4-0 start.
NOTES: Kings RW Dustin Brown moved past Rob Blake for sole
possession of fourth place on the franchise's all-time list of games
played with 806. ... The Wild were 9-for-12, including a 7-for-7
effort in Thursday's win against the Arizona Coyotes, in penalty
kills entering Friday's contest. ... Los Angeles took two of the
three meetings last season. ... Minnesota scratched D Nate Prosser
and G Niklas Backstrom. D Matt Greene and C Jodan Weal were
unavailable for the Kings. ... Both clubs resume play Sunday. The
Wild will cap their three-game road swing with a visit to the
Anaheim Ducks, while the Kings host the Colorado Avalanche.
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