Minnesota 3, Los Angeles 1
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 8, 2018
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees:
Brian Pochmara, Ian Walsh
Linesmen:
Brian Murphy, Bryan Pancich
Attendance:
17621
By Field Level Media
Zach Parise scored the go-ahead goal and added an assist as the visiting Minnesota Wild continued their winning ways on a seven-city road trip with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
The Wild won for the eighth time in their past 10 games to remain one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Minnesota is now 3-2-0 on its two-week trip with games at Anaheim and St. Louis still to come.
Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund also scored for the Wild, and Mikko Koivu assisted on all three of the team's tallies.
Jake Muzzin scored a goal for the Kings, who fell to 1-1-0 under interim coach Willie Desjardins. Head coach John Stevens was fired Sunday after the Kings started 4-8-1.
Muzzin got the Kings off to yet another hot start when he scored 4:42 into the game. His first goal of the season came after he carried the puck through the neutral zone, weaved his way through the Wild defense and put a backhanded shot over the shoulder of Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk. It was the third consecutive game the Kings grabbed a 1-0 lead.
The Wild tied the score on a power play at the 14:23 mark of the first period when Niederreiter scored from close range on a pass from Parise. Initially Parise took a shot to the short side, and he collected the rebound off Kings goalie Jack Campbell and fed Niederreiter.
The Kings had killed 17 consecutive power plays before Niederreiter scored.
The Wild took the lead for good at 14:42 of the second period when Parise scored through Campbell's legs. After a turnover from Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, Koivu fed Parise in front of the goal. The backhanded shot was Parise's 700th career NHL point.
Granlund scored the final Wild goal short-handed and into an empty net with three seconds remaining, his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Wild center Eric Staal returned to the lineup Thursday after missing a Tuesday defeat at San Jose because of a stomach virus. Staal saw his streak of 335 consecutive games played come to an end.
The Kings' franchise-record sellout streak of 297 games ended as a crowd of 17,621 was in attendance at Staples Center.
Before the game, players from both teams held placards that read "ENOUGH" during a moment of silence for victims of the Thousand Oaks, Calif., shooting late Wednesday night.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Los Angeles |
|
Mikko Koivu 3 |
Points |
Jake Muzzin 1 |
|
Zach Parise 1 |
Goals |
Jake Muzzin 1 |
|
Mikko Koivu 3 |
Assists |
Alec Martinez 1 |
|
Nino Niederreiter 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
Mikael Granlund 1 |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Devan Dubnyk .964 |
Save Percentage |
Jack Campbell .913 |
|
Devan Dubnyk 27 |
Saves |
Jack Campbell 21 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Minnesota
|
24 |
3 |
1-3 |
3-3 |
6 |
28 |
| Los Angeles
|
28 |
1 |
0-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Kings have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .400 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Wild have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .571 after a loss.
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