Kings at Wild
Two teams battling for third place in their respective divisions face off Monday as the Minnesota Wild host the Los Angeles Kings. Minnesota, which is three points ahead of Colorado in the Central, is coming off road victories over Vegas and Arizona on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves en route to his 200th career win while Eric Staal netted his team-leading 38th tally to move closer to his third 40-goal season and first since 2008-09 while with Carolina. Los Angeles, which trails Anaheim by two points for third in the Pacific, is kicking off a four-game road trip after playing just one of its previous eight contests this month away from home. The Kings came up empty at Staples Center on Saturday as they were blanked 3-0 by New Jersey to finish 21-10-1 against the Eastern Conference this season. Los Angeles' fourth shutout loss of the campaign ended the six-game point streak of captain Anze Kopitar, who collected two goals and eight assists during the run and leads the team with 80 points.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE KINGS (39-27-6): Kopitar is one point away from matching the career high he set in 2009-10 and one tally shy of his third 30-goal campaign. Defenseman Drew Doughty also saw his point streak come to an end Saturday as he had registered a goal and six assists over his previous four contests. Dustin Brown is having a strong bounce back season as he has reached the 20-goal mark for the first time since scoring 22 in 2011-12 and needs two points to hit 50 for the first time since that same campaign.
ABOUT THE WILD (41-24-7): Charlie Coyle has been wielding a hot stick for Minnesota as he carries a six-game point streak into Monday's contest. The 26-year-old center has collected three goals and four assists during the run and landed on the scoresheet in 10 of his last 14 games. Nino Niederreiter netted his 17th tally on Saturday, moving him closer to his fourth consecutive 20-goal season.
OVERTIME
1. Wild D Matt Dumba, who appeared in his 300th NHL game on Saturday, needs one goal to set a new career high of 12.
2. Doughty has logged at least 30 minutes of ice time on 11 occasions this season, including seven regulation contests.
3. Minnesota's Bruce Boudreau is one away from 500 career coaching victories.