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 Goals by Erik Haula and Mikko Koivu were enough for the Wild, who
beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 via just 18 shots on goal. Devan
Dubnyk's season-high 38 saves made the biggest difference, as the
Wild (35-28-11) won their third game in a row, moving ahead of the
idle Colorado Avalanche by a point in the race for the final playoff
spot in the West.
Tyler Toffoli scored the lone goal for the Kings, who already
clinched a trip to the playoffs but lost for the second time in as
many nights. Jonathan Quick had 16 saves for Los Angeles (44-24-5),
which dominated offensively in all three periods but managed just
one goal.
The Kings outshot Minnesota 13-6 in the third, but were thwarted by
Dubnyk at every turn.
"He was big, competitive and wanted to win and he wanted to show the
team that he was going to carry us through that game," Wild interim
coach John Torchetti said. "We didn't get the play we wanted in
front of him. He was fun to watch because he competed and did a
great job, even on rebounds of keeping them close. Just came up big
for us."
Haula got some rest early, spending two minutes in the penalty box
when he was whistled for high sticking in the first minute. The
Kings got a quartet of shots against Dubnyk but did not score on the
power play, continuing a recent run of success for Minnesota penalty
killers.
 "I'm just trying to be myself out there, and relax, and find pucks,
and trust everybody," said Dubnyk, now 4-0-1 in his last five
starts. "All of us are at our best when we're trusting each other,
and that's myself included. These guys have done a great job in
front of me, and it gives me a lot of trust in what they're doing.
That helps my game."
When Haula was out of the box, he went hard to the net and caught a
pass from Charlie Coyle between the circles. Minnesota's first shot
of the game was a backhander by Haula that fooled Quick, giving the
Wild a 1-0 lead.
The Kings dominated everywhere else for the rest of the period,
outshooting the Wild 14-3 in the opening 20 minutes and holding the
Wild without a shot on goal during two power plays.
"Special teams turned out to be the difference again," Kings center
Anze Kopitar said. "We've got to figure out how to get a power play
goal. There were many opportunities there and a lot of good looks,
we just need to find a way to capitalize on them. That was the
difference tonight."
When the Wild did get a shot during a power play early in the second
period, Koivu stepped around a check and fired a rising shot into
the upper left corner of the net. With Zach Parise posted at the top
of the crease, blocking much of Quick's view, the goalie didn't have
a chance to react before the puck was behind him.
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The Kings dominated another power play midway through the game and
still could not score, but they finally got on the board with an
even-strength goal.
Roughly a minute after Dubnyk robbed Drew Doughty with a sweeping
glove save, Doughty started a rush to the Wild net that ended with
Toffoli using a Minnesota defender as a screen and popping off a
shot from between the circles that eluded Dubnyk on the stick side
for his team-leading 27th goal of the season.
"He probably was (the difference). At the same time, it's tough to
score in this league," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter in praise of
Dubnyk. "When you've got that many shots you've got to make sure you
keep the goals-against at one or two and score. That's how you make
the playoffs, and that's how you win in the playoffs."
NOTES: Wild RW Jason Pominville participated in a full morning skate
with the team Tuesday, but he has yet to return to game action. He
missed his seventh consecutive game with a groin injury he sustained
in Minnesota's 3-2 shootout win at Buffalo on March 5. ... With RW
Kris Versteeg out Tuesday and still day to day with a foot injury
that occurred when he was hit by a shot during the Kings' 2-1 home
win over Boston last weekend, Los Angeles recalled F Nic Dowd from
its Ontario AHL team on Tuesday. It marked the NHL debut for Dowd,
who was a standout college player in Minnesota for St. Cloud State.
... Minnesota LW Thomas Vanek was a healthy scratch for the third
consecutive game and for the fourth time this season. During the
team's morning skate, Vanek admitted that he is frustrated but
determined to keep working hard to get back into the lineup.
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