Game Preview: Wild at Kings

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Minnesota Wild is back on the ice, tonight facing off against the Kings after defeating the Ducks 5-2 last night.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, January 3rd at 8:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, California)
• Watch: FanDuel Sports North
• Listen: KFAN
• Gamecenter: Wild at Kings

Wild Record: 25-10-7

Kings Record: 16-14-9

2025-26 Series Record: 1-0-0

All-Time Wild Record: 44-30-15 (19-18-7 at Los Angeles)

Last Time Out

This Season on Wild vs. Kings

Minnesota won the series-opening game, 4-3, in a shootout victory at Grand Casino Arena (10/13).

RW Vladimir Tarasenko led the Wild with two assists (0-2=2). LW Matt Boldy (1-0=1), LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-0=1) and D Jared Spurgeon (1-0=1) scored goals for Minnesota, while C Marco Rossi notched the deciding shootout goal. G Jesper Wallstedt stopped 31-of-34 shots faced and all four shootout attempts.

RW Quinton Byfield (1-1=2) and RW Adrian Kempe (1-1=2) led the Kings with two points each. LW Kevin Fiala (1-0=1) also scored for Los Angeles. G Darcy Kuemper stopped 23-of-26 shots faced.

Wild Leaders Against Kings

• RW Vladimir Tarasenko leads Minnesota with 29 points (12-17=29) in 31 career games vs. Los Angeles
• RW Mats Zuccarello has 19 points (6-13=19) in 31 career contests
• Kaprizov (11-7=18 in 20 games) and D Quinn Hughes (3-15=18 in 19 games) own 18 points each

Kings Leaders Against Wild

• C Anze Kopitar leads Los Angeles with 60 points (17-43=60) in 69 career games vs. Minnesota
• RW Corey Perry has 45 points (24-21=45) in 587 games
• D Drew Doughty owns 39 points (7-32=39) in 57 contests
• Kempe has 21 points (9-12=21) in 30 games

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On the Mend

Daemon Hunt: lower body (eight games missed)

Full Injury Report

Connections

• Minnesota Goaltending Coach Frederic Chabot went 3-3-2 with a 3.14 GAA and a .891 SV% in 12 games (nine starts) with the Kings in 1997-98
• D Jake Middleton was selected by the Kings in the seventh round (210th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft
• D Brock Faber was drafted by the Kings in the second round (45th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft
• Fiala played three seasons (2019-22) with Minnesota, appearing in 215 games and tallying 186 points (79-107=186)
• Kuemper was selected by the Wild in the sixth round (161st overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft and went 41-34-14 with a 2.60 GAA, a .910 SV% and seven shutouts in 102 games (82 starts) in five seasons with Minnesota (2012-17)
• D Mikey Anderson hails from Fridley and skated one season at Hill-Murray (2013-14) and two seasons at the University of Minnesota Duluth (2017-19)

Fast Facts

• The Wild is 14-4-1 in the last 19 contests played against the Kings in Saint Paul since 3/28/15

For more information on today's matchup, check out the game notes below.