Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 5, Kings 3

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 5-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Thursday night:

1. Hello, Marcus Johansson.
The veteran winger has had a quiet start to his Wild career, scoring just one point -- albeit a big one -- through the first seven games of the season.
That changed in a big way in the first period on Thursday night.

Moments after passing up a golden opportunity on a 3-on-1 rush, one that might have had you shaking your head on the couch at home, Johansson made up for it, gaining control of the puck near the top of the left circle and whipping a shot past Jonathan Quick for his second goal of the season, and first point since his overtime winner against the Kings in the second game of the season.
But the offensive-minded forward wasn't done.
After Kevin Fiala's goal made it 2-0 (more on that in a minute), Johansson showed off his playmaking ability, corralling a puck along the right-wing wall and patiently waiting for Kirill Kaprizov to pinch in from the left point. Johansson saw him streaking towards the left post and found him with a precision pass right on the tape for a tap-in on the back door and a 3-0 lead.

Seriously folks, that pass was absolutely world class.
For Johansson and the Wild, it was Minnesota's first three-goal period of the season and provided the club with some much needed, and much appreciated room to breathe.
2. Fiala's goal was peak Fiala.
What are the two things you think about most when it comes to traits that describe the way Kevin Fiala plays?
One of them is probably speed, and he showcased it in a big way in the first period.
The play started 140 feet from the net when Fiala blocked a point shot by a Kings defenseman then scooped up the puck at neutral. He turned on the afterburners from there, blowing past a backchecking forward to create a breakaway, where he rifled a shot far side past Quick for his third goal of the season.

It was the kind of goal that showcases the exact kind of player the Wild believe Fiala will be, both this season and long into the future.
A special play, by a special talent ... one that, after a slow start, now has goals in three of the past four games. Some chuckled when that empty-net goal in the home opener was offered as a way to get the goal-scoring monkey off his back. Well, who's laughing now?
3. Changing lines can't change momentum.
Joel Eriksson Ek has been arguably the Wild's most consistent player through the first couple weeks, and entered the night with a team-leading four goals and six points.
He's been playing on the team's "third" line, with Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno, a line that has been fantastic, but his play has been so solid, Eriksson Ek was finally moved into the top six.

Well, Eriksson Ek just kept right on scoring on Thursday, scoring his fifth of the year, which provided the final with the final nail in the coffin after some tense moments in the second period.
Los Angeles turned a 3-0 deficit into a 3-2 game after a parade of Wild penalties put the Kings on the power play for much of the first half of the second period, including a major on Fiala.
L.A. scored 3:19 into the second on a Dustin Brown redirection, then scored again on the major when Doughty blew a slap shot by Kaapo Kahkonen from point-blank range.

Minnesota killed the major, then scored late in the second on Nick Bjugstad's second goal of the season before Eriksson Ek pushed the Wild lead back to three goals 4:44 into the third.
Kahkonen finished with 32 saves in another rock-solid effort in place of an injured Cam Talbot.