Wild at Kings
The defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings appear fully recovered from a slow start, especially on defense. The Kings aim for their fourth straight victory when they host the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. The Wild returned from nearly a week off on Friday and suffered their first loss at Anaheim, surrendering their first two goals of the season in the process.
Minnesota goaltender Darcy Kuemper posted back-to-back shutouts of the Colorado Avalanche to begin the campaign but had his scoreless streak come to an end when he surrendered a pair of third-period tallies in a 2-1 loss to the Ducks. “We know what we can do defensively,” Kuemper told reporters after breaking Niklas Backstrom’s franchise-record shutout streak. “We’re a defensive-minded team and we play solid structurally in our own end and make it tough on teams.” The Kings used a similar strategy to take two of the last three Stanley Cups and have allowed two goals during their three-game winning streak.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE WILD (2-1-0): Minnesota put up eight goals in its first two games but was upset about missed offensive chances following the loss to Anaheim. The Wild are 0-for-11 on the power play and free-agent signing Thomas Vanek has been held to one assist in the first three games as he tries to settle in on the second line with captain Mikko Koivu, who has failed to record a point. “We’ve got to get that in order,” coach Mike Yeo told the Minneapolis Star Tribune of the power play. “We’ve got the personnel. It’s a mindset, an attack mentality that’s missing right now.”
ABOUT THE KINGS (3-1-1): Los Angeles has its own struggles on the power play but cleaned up the penalty kill after allowing three goals in the first two contests. Jonathan Quick yielded seven goals in the first two games but just one in his last two starts, including a 43-save shutout on Thursday as the Kings improved to 3-0-0 in their six-game homestand. Jeff Carter scored the lone shootout goal in the 1-0 win over St. Louis on Thursday and joined Tanner Pearson with at least one tally in each of the previous three contests.
OVERTIME
1. Quick (32) needs one more shutout to snap a tie with Rogie Vachon for the franchise lead.
2. Minnesota won in Los Angeles twice last season – once in a shootout.
3. Kings RW Marian Gaborik (lower body) has missed the last two games.