LA Kings Minnesota Wild

The LA Kings notched their first win of the season, hanging onto a 7-6 win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Scoring

1st Period

Adrian Kempe (2), Assists: Kevin Fiala (1), Mikey Anderson (1)

Gabriel Vilardi (2), Assists: Alex Iafallo (2), Quinton Byfield (2)

Drew Doughty (1) (Power Play), Assists: Anze Kopitar (2), Kevin Fiala (2)

Jacob Middleton (1), Assists: Jared Spurgeon (1), Matt Boldy (1)

Marcus Foligno (1), Assists: Joel Eriksson Ek (1), Matt Dumba (2)

Alex Iafallo (2), Assists: Gabriel Vilardi (2), Matt Roy (1)

2nd Period

Joel Eriksson Ek (1) (Power Play), Assists: Kirill Kaprizov (2), Mats Zuccarello (1)

Kevin Fiala (1) (Power Play), Assists: Adrian Kempe (1), Anze Kopitar (3)

Kirill Kaprizov (1) (Power Play), Assists: Mats Zuccarello (2), Filip Gustavsson (1)

Matt Roy (1), Assists: Brendan Lemieux (1), Arthur Kaliyev (1)

3rd Period

Mats Zuccarello (2) (Power Play), Assists: Calen Addison (1), Matt Boldy (2)

Sam Steel (1), Assists: Ryan Hartman (1), Jonas Brodin (1)

Adrian Kempe (3), Assists: Anze Kopitar (4), Mikey Anderson (2)

Wild first period

How many of these puns can I make in one article? The opening period saw the Kings and Wild tally a combined six goals. Los Angeles jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with goals coming from Adrian Kempe, Gabe Vilardi, and Drew Doughty, before Minnesota scored the next two.

However, Alex Iafallo tallied an important goal late in the period to give the Kings a two-goal lead heading into the break. The tally also chased netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who probably should have made a save on Iafallo’s blast from the point.

Kevin Fiala back in Minnesota

One of the more prominent storylines heading into Saturday was the return of Kevin Fiala to Minnesota since the Kings and Wild struck a deal over the summer to send the Swiss-born forward west. Prior to the game, he was honored with a video tribute.

“It was really nice being here, and I appreciate all the support from the fans. It was a great moment for me, and I enjoyed it,” Fiala said.

As previously noted, the 26-year-old had been quiet through his first two games in a Kings’ uniform, but he had a coming-out party in Saint Paul.

He assisted on two of the first three goals, including an incredible cross-ice pass to find Kempe along the right side on the first goal of the game. In the second period and clinging to a 4-3 lead, Fiala added a much-needed powerplay goal, snapping in a shot off a pass from Kempe just below the right dot and past Filip Gustavsson.

“It was nice to score the first goal and the group circling around me, it felt great being on this team,” he said after the game.

Cal Petersen/Penalty Kill need work

Saturday marked Cal Petersen’s first start of the season, the first year in his three-year, $15 million contract extension. With Jonathan Quick set to be a UFA at the end of the year, it goes without mentioning that Petersen needed to prove himself capable of being a No. 1 goaltender.

After Saturday’s performance, the LA Kings will look for him to improve after allowing six goals on 35 shots. While it wasn’t entirely his fault, there were a couple of goals that Petersen would probably want back. That said, he made perhaps his best save with 6.2 seconds left in regulation on a bouncing puck off the endboards that could have been big trouble had he not covered it up so quickly.

Todd McLellan has noted poor game management early on this season, and he likely won’t be happy with the number of penalties the Kings committed on Saturday. Los Angeles was shorthanded six times, allowing goals on three of those opportunities. Minnesota’s powerplay not only allowed them to erase a three-goal deficit in the first period but to hang around throughout the game.

“That was a crazy game, maybe not the usual Kings hockey that we see,” Kempe said. “We ended up on the right side at the end. Offensively, we took a step in the right direction. Defensively, too many penalties tonight, something we have to work on.”

“I think if you told us that we were going to score seven goals, I would have been jumping for joy. It’s the giving up six that isn’t the ideal recipe. That’s a really hard game to explain,” McLellan added.

Up Next: The LA Kings roadtrip continues with a stop in Detroit on Monday for an important game with the Red Wings.

Featured Image Credit: ESPN.com

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