Wild Edge Kings in Shootout, Secure 1-0 Victory
The Minnesota Wild defeated the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 today following a scoreless regulation and overtime period, decided by a shootout victory for Minnesota.
The Wild dominated the first period with power-play goals from Jared Spurgeon, Kirill Kaprizov, and Matthew Boldy, taking a 3-0 lead. However, the Kings mounted a furious comeback in the third period with goals from Kevin Fiala, Quinton Byfield, and Adrian Kempe to tie the game at 3-3. Despite a flurry of shots – Los Angeles with 34 and Minnesota with 26 – neither team could break the deadlock during regulation or the subsequent overtime.
Marco Rossi scored the lone goal in the shootout for Minnesota, while Kings’ shooters Kempe, Moore, Fiala, and Kuzmenko were all stopped by Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, who secured his first win of the season with 31 saves. Kings’ goaltender Cam Talbot stopped 23 of 26 shots faced. This win marks an important early-season victory for Minnesota as they look to improve upon last season’s playoff performance; you can find the current NHL standings here.
Officials Garrett Rank and Chris Schlenker oversaw the game, which was played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, before an attendance of 17,102. The Wild will next face the Chicago Blackhawks on October 16th, while the Kings will travel to take on the Anaheim Ducks.
