Preview: Kings at Wild

Kings team scope

Tanner Pearson will return to the lineup after a four-game suspension for an illegal check. Pearson was suspended for a hit to the head on Edmonton Oilers forward Brandon Davidson during a preseason game on Oct. 2. Pearson had 15 goals and 36 points last season and could provide offense for the struggling Kings, who are looking for the first win of the season. "It's definitely a good feeling," Pearson said. "It wasn't an ideal way to start the season but it happened and now I've got to focus on playing my game and helping this team get the first win under the belt." Kings coach Darryl Sutter welcomed Pearson back into the lineup, saying "he's a good goal scorer."

Wild team scope

Coach Bruce Boudreau and Minnesota are seeking back-to-back wins, and will play a team the former Anaheim Ducks coach is very familiar with. "[I have] mostly bad [memories]," Boudreau said of playing against the Kings. "Regular season was good, but I keep thinking of [Stanley Cup Playoffs] Game 6 and 7… [It's] always a hard game to play. Always a very heavy team. They play with great pace and they work their butt off." The Kings have a physical presence that the Wild will have to counter. "We've got to meet their push in the first," forward Erik Haula said. "We've got to come to the game ready to play and play a solid 60 minutes."

Kings projected lineup

Dwight King -- Anze Kopitar -- Tyler Toffoli

Tanner Pearson -- Jeff Carter -- Devin Setoguchi

Dustin Brown -- Nick Shore -- Trevor Lewis

Andy Andreoff -- Nic Dowd -- Jordan Nolan

Brayden McNabb -- Drew Doughty

Jake Muzzin -- Alec Martinez

Tom Gilbert -- Derek Forbort

Jeff Zatkoff

Peter Budaj

Scratched: Teddy Purcell, Kyle Clifford, Matt Greene

Injured: Jonathan Quick (groin), Marian Gaborik (foot)

Wild projected lineup

Zach Parise -- Eric Staal -- Charlie Coyle

Mikael Granlund -- Mikko Koivu -- Chris Stewart

Nino Niederreiter -- Erik Haula -- Jason Pominville

Jason Zucker -- Zac Dalpe -- Teemu Pulkkinen

Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon

Marco Scandella -- Matt Dumba

Jonas Brodin -- Christian Folin

Darcy Kuemper

Devan Dubnyk

Scratched: Nate Prosser

Injured: None

Status report

Boudreau said Kuemper will start. It will be his first start this season. Kuemper had his last shutout against the Kings on Jan. 21, stopping 32 shots. He is 2-1-1 against Los Angeles with a 1.82 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

Who's hot

Coyle has one goal and one assist in two games for the Wild. He is playing on the top line with Parise and Staal and assisted on Staal's goal in a 4-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, and scored in a 3-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.