Game Recap: Wild 4, Kings 3 (S/O)

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy each extended his point streak to three games, and the Minnesota Wild recovered for a 4-3 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings at Grand Casino Arena on Monday.

Adrian Kempe scored with 46 seconds left in the third period to tie it 3-3, the Kings’ third straight goal in the period.

“It’s nice we take two points but it’s, how you say, we need to play a little better when it’s a 3-nothing game,” Kaprizov said.

Kaprizov and Boldy each has three goals and four assists on the season-opening run for Minnesota (2-1-0). Jesper Wallstedt made 31 saves in his season debut.

Marco Rossi scored the only goal in the shootout in the fourth round after the Wild killed off a 4-on-3 penalty for the final 1:25 of overtime.

“It would have been nice if we could have kept it away from shootouts and overtime but two points on home ice against a [conference] team, we’ll take it,” Wallstedt said.

Kempe and Quinton Byfield each had a goal and an assist for Los Angeles (1-2-1). Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves.

“If you take away the start, which you can't, ... the last 50 minutes if that's what you want to call it, I like lots about it,” Los Angeles coach Jim Hillier said. “We didn't give them as much and we didn't create a whole bunch, but obviously we created enough. We would have liked to see us score on the 4-on-3, we had some good looks. That would have made it a good night, a great night actually. In the end we can't just be satisfied with one.”

Kevin Fiala made it 3-1 when he banked in a rebound off Wallstedt’s hip at 3:53 of the third period.

Byfield cut it to 3-2 at 6:22 with a snap shot in the high slot on the power play. Kempe capped the Los Angeles comeback with Kuemper pulled for an extra skater when he buried a rebound cutting through the low slot.

“It was good for us, for sure. But we can’t put ourselves in those holes,” Byfield said. “We’re taking too many penalties, and I might be the main guy taking a ton, so that’s something we got to fix. You can’t be in those holes. But it’s good resiliency to get that point back. It’s better to take one point back than anything.”

The Wild scored three power-play goals in the first period. They have scored seven straight power-play goals, including all four in a 7-4 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

“The power play, when you have that much talent on the ice, I think, to me, they're so competitive on the puck and then they do have a shot mentality,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “They're not overpassing or trying to play a little bit too cute. So that's why the power play's had success.”

Jared Spurgeon made it 1-0 with 10 seconds left on the power play at 14:04 of the first period, scoring on a wrist shot from the left circle through a screened Kuemper.

Kaprizov increased the lead to 2-0 at 16:13 with a shot from the point on a 5-on-3 power play and Boldy extended it to 3-0 just 20 seconds later at 16:33 on the remaining 5-on-4 man-advantage with dangle down low and off Kuemper’s glove.

“I thought there was some good things we did,” Hynes said. “I thought the first half of the game, and then I think certain components of playing with the lead could be a little bit better. I think that's what I would take out of it, of the learning lessons.”

NOTES: Kings captain Anze Kopitar extended his assist streak to four games. He became the fourth player age 38 or older in NHL history to record a season-opening assist streak of at least four games. The others: Larry Robinson (six games in 1989-90), Teppo Numminen (four in 2008-09) and Jean Beliveau (four in 1970-71). … Kaprizov and Boldy’s goals 20 seconds apart was the third-fastest power-play goals in Wild history behind two 11-second spans on Dec. 5, 2014, and Nov. 5, 2007.