Los Angeles 6, Minnesota 0
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, Francois St. Laurent
Linesmen:
Travis Gawryletz, Andrew Smith
Attendance:
17086
By Field Level Media
Anze Kopitar collected one goal and one assist to surpass 1,200 points in his career and goaltender David Rittich posted his career-high third shutout of the season as the host Los Angeles Kings claimed a 6-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.
Phillip Danault, Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson each also netted one goal and one assist while Matt Roy and Jordan Spence added one goal apiece for the Kings (36-22-11, 83 points), who strengthened their hold on third place in the Pacific Division. Rittich made 31 saves to record his seventh career shutout.
Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore and Drew Doughty each collected two assists.
Wild starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled after surrendering five goals on 16 shots. Filip Gustavsson stopped 10 of 11 shots in relief for the Wild (34-28-8, 76 points), who were without top-pairing defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body) and lost in regulation time for the first time in nine outings.
Danault opened the scoring on his team's first shot. After a turnover, Moore sent a shot on net that Danault redirected for his 17th goal of the season at the 5:08 mark.
Fiala's power-play goal at 15:03 of the period doubled the lead. While his team buzzed around the offensive zone, Fiala stepped down from the point and ripped a shot from the slot for his 23rd of the campaign.
Arvidsson, who returned after missing 14 games due to a lower-body injury, extended the lead to 3-0 just 83 seconds later when his pass attempt ricocheted off a sprawling defender and into the cage for his first of the season.
The rout continued with Roy's tally 28 seconds into the second period. Quinton Byfield's pass banked off a defenseman's skate right to Roy in the slot, and he made no mistake to net his fourth of the season.
Spence added another power-play goal at 7:34 of the middle frame, converting a long shot for his second of the season, which spelled the end of the game for Fleury. Kopitar capped the second period at 17:15 by blasting a one-timer from the right faceoff dot for his 23rd of the season.
The third period featured a handful of scrums, for which both sides had a half-dozen players handed 10-minute misconducts.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Los Angeles |
|
N/A |
Points |
Viktor Arvidsson 2 |
|
N/A |
Goals |
Viktor Arvidsson 1 |
|
N/A |
Assists |
Drew Doughty 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Kevin Fiala 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Filip Gustavsson .909 |
Save Percentage |
David Rittich 1.000 |
|
Marc-Andre Fleury 11 |
Saves |
David Rittich 31 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Minnesota
|
31 |
0 |
0-2 |
2-4 |
79 |
30 |
| Los Angeles
|
27 |
6 |
2-4 |
2-2 |
75 |
23 |
Upcoming Games
-
Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Kings have a W/L % of .543 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Wild have a W/L % of .543 after a win and .429 after a loss.
For more information, contact us