The Minnesota Wild battled on Thursday night but couldn’t quite unseat the Los Angeles Kings. While the Wild did their best, they still fell 7-3 to the Kings. The first period was a good battle between the teams, while the second period was a stalemate. The third period was where things really came alive. The Kings ended up winning 7-3, including two empty net goals that the Kings scored toward the end of the third period.
A Grudge Match
This game was an interesting grudge match between the Kings and the Wild. Cam Talbot, now in net for the Kings, played for the Wild before being traded to the Ottawa Senators for Filip Gustavsson before the 2022-23 season. Brock Faber also came to Minnesota when his signing rights were part of the trade for Kevin Fiala. Faber has been one of the best defensemen the Wild have. He’s totaled the highest time on the ice for the first three games of the season.
An All-Around Battle
The Wild may not have played exactly how they wanted to play, but they also didn’t roll over and die. The battle level was evident, and the entire team seemed to be trying their hardest. Of course, the Wild are down Jared Spurgeon, Matt Boldy, and Alex Goligoski. They called Sammy Walker up from the Iowa Wild yesterday to fill a forward role. Dakota Mermis, who had been traveling as a seventh forward, has stepped into the third pairing in the regular lineup.
5 vs. 5 Has Shaped Up
During the game against the Montreal Canadiens, all of their goals came during special teams. After two short-handed goals and three power-play goals, there was a question of whether they’d be able to do anything at regular strength. Tonight answered that question. Unlike the last game, all of the Wild’s goals came 5 v. 5 tonight. They were scored by Connor Dewar, Kirill Kaprizov, and Joel Eriksson Ek.
Disputed Goal Was Turning Point
Late in the first period, Pierre-Luc Dubois netted a controversial goal. The puck clearly had contact with Dubois’s skate as he kicked it toward his stick, but it was unclear whether it actually made contact with the stick before it went into the net. The officials ruled that it had touched his stick and was a good goal. Going into the first intermission down 4-2 proved frustrating for the Wild. They managed to hold off any Kings goals during the second period but didn’t manage to net any of their own either.
Empty Net Goals Sealed the Deal
The Wild opted to pull their goalie in the third period when the score was 5-3. Unfortunately, the Kings were able to net two empty net goals, which really sealed the Kings’ win.
Positive Note: Faceoff Percentage
The Wild have struggled on the faceoff dot. But tonight, every player that took a faceoff draw had a great percentage. Marco Rossi had a faceoff percentage of 85%! Both Ryan Hartman and Freddy Gaudreau clocked in at 62%, while Ek was successful 52% of the time. Overall, the Wild won 40 out of 66 faceoffs.
Should Fleury Have Stayed In Net?
Marc-Andre Fleury had a great win in Montreal on Tuesday, and he played in the net again tonight. Would Filip Gustavsson have let in the same amount of goals? Who knows? After a loose first period, Fleury buckled down in the second period and was solid from that point on.
Coming Up Next
This is the first game in a three-game homestand for the Wild. The Wild face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at home. Then, they will face the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday the 24th at home.
