Preview: Wild at Kings

LOS ANGELES -- The Minnesota Wild heads up the highway to play the Los Angeles Kings after a shutout win over the Anaheim Ducks last night.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Wednesday, March 20 at 9:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, California)
• Watch: TNT / Max
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild at Kings

Wild Record: 34-27-8, 76 points, 5th in Central Division

Kings Record: 35-22-11, 81 points, 3rd in Pacific Division

2023-24 Series Record: 0-1-0

Wild vs. Kings All-Time Record: 41-27-15 (18-16-7 at Los Angeles)

Last Time Out

The Wild shutout the Anaheim Ducks, 4-0, for the second time this season last night. After a scoreless first period F Ryan Hartman (1-1=2), D Jon Merrill (1-0=1) and F Kirill Kaprizov (1-0=1; PPG) all scored in the second. F Jake Lucchini (1-0=1) scored in the third. F Matt Boldy (0-2=2) also recorded two points. G Filip Gustavsson stopped all 27 shot attempts for his third shutout this season. 

The Kings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks last night, 6-2, at home. Forwards Anze Kopitar (2-1=3) and Adrian Kempe (0-3=3) led Los Angeles with three points each. Forwards Kevin Fiala and Pierre-Luc Dubois (0-2=2) and D Vladislav Gavrikov all notched two points (1-1=2). Forwards Phillip Danault, Trevor Lewis and Alex Laferriere netted goals in the win. G Cam Talbot stopped 22-of-24 shots faced (.917 SV%).

Previously on Wild vs. Kings

The Kings won the series-opening game, 7-3, at Xcel Energy Center (10/19). 

F Connor Dewar (1-0=1), Eriksson Ek (10=1) and Kaprizov (1-0=1) scored for the Wild. G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 20-of-25 shots faced for Minnesota. 

Dubois (2-0=2) and Kempe (1-1=2) led Los Angeles with two points each. Gavrikov (1-0=1), F Carl Grundstrom (1-0=1), F Blake Lizotte (1-0=1) and F Trevor Moore (1-0=1) also scored for Los Angeles. Talbot saved 30-of-32 shots faced to earn the win for the Kings.

Players to Watch

• Kaprizov leads Minnesota with 77 points (36-41=77) and 36 goals this season and owns an active eight-game point streak (10-4=14), the second-longest active streak in the NHL, and an active five-game goal streak (6-3=9), the longest active streak in the NHL
• Merrill needs one game appearance to reach 600 for his NHL career
• D Brock Faber leads all NHL rookies with 25:06 TOI per game, 133 blocked shots and 32 assists, and is second with 38 points (6-32=38)
• Kempe (21-37=58) has seven points (2-5=7) in his last five games played, is second on LA in assists and is T-2nd in points
• Kopitar (22-36=58) has four goals in his last five games, is T-2nd in points and goals and is third in assists on the Kings
• Fiala (22-38=60) owns 17 points in his last 15 games, leads Los Angeles in points and assists and is T-2nd in goals

Recent Transactions

The Minnesota Wild signed F Rasmus Kumpulainen to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2024-25 season.

To view more recent transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

To view Minnesota's full Injury Report, visit wild.com/injury.

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
• Fiala played three seasons (2019-22) with Minnesota, appearing in 215 games and tallying 186 points (79-107=186)
• Faber was drafted by the Kings in the second round (45th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft
• D Mikey Anderson hails from Fridley and skated one season at Hill-Murray (2013-14) and two seasons at the University of Minnesota Duluth (201719)
• Lizotte is a Lindstrom native and played two seasons at St. Cloud State University (2017-19)
• Talbot spent two seasons in Minnesota (2020-22), going 51-20-9 with a 2.71 GAA and a .913 SV%

Fast Facts

• The Wild is 6-0-2 in its last eight games played, the team’s longest point streak of the season
• Since March 3, Minnesota ranks T-1st in the NHL in points (14), T-2nd in goals allowed per game (1.78) and shutouts (two), and third in shots against per game (26.7) and save percentage (.933)
• The Wild is 19-9-4 in the last 30 games vs. Los Angeles with 15 of the games decided by one goal
• Minnesota owns points in 11 of its last 18 games at Crypto.com Arena (8-7-3)

Game Notes

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