The Wild and Los Angeles Kings traded big periods on Monday, but Minnesota ultimately won the final challenge.
After blowing a 3-0, first-period lead, the Wild survived an overtime penalty kill to send the game to a shootout, winning on a Marco Rossi goal and Jesper Wallstedt’s last four saves of a big night for the 22-year-old goalkeeper.
“It would have been nice if we could have kept it away from shootouts and overtime,” Wallstedt said. “But two points on home ice against a (conference) team, we’ll take it.”
Jared Spurgeon, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy each scored power-play goals in the final seven minutes of the first period, and the Wild appeared to put the game away early when Ryan Hartman quickly followed with an even-strength goal.
The horn sounded and Hartman raised his arms in celebration, but before he could skate to the bench for his high-fives, on-ice officials waved off the goal because Hartman — battling Kings center Quinto Byfield — ran into goaltender Darcy Kuemper and impeded his ability to chase the puck.
The contact was deemed incidental, but the call loomed large late as the Kings rallied to tie the game with third-period goals by Kevin Fiala, Byfield and — with 45 seconds left — Adrian Kempe, who corralled an easy rebound and found the near corner to send the game to overtime.
“Big block, and it just ends up right on their stick,” Wild captain Jared Spurgeon said. “That’s the way it is. But we didn’t sag too much in overtime, had some big chances, and the big kill there, and then some big saves to win the shootout.”
Rossi scored the only shootout goal, and Wallstedt stopped shots by Kempe, Trevor Moore, Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko — the last sealing the two points and pushing the Wild to 2-1-0 this new season — in his first NHL appearance since Dec. 21, 2024.
Wallstedt finished with 31 saves, three in an overtime that included a two minute 4-on-3 advantage for the Kings.
“I felt like I was in good control, even though I was tired,” Wallstedt said. “The work I did this summer felt like it was worth it, and I felt like I could keep on pushing those last couple seconds.
“I looked up quick and could see there was 10 seconds left; that was when I was like, ‘OK, let’s battle this one out, and we’ll win in a shootout.’ ”
It looked like the Wild’s game early when in the space of 2 minutes 29 seconds, Spurgeon, Kaprizov and Boldy scored power-play goals as Minnesota raced to a 3-0 lead with 3:27 left in the first frame.
But Minnesota hasn’t scored an even-strength goal since their 5-0, season-opening win at St. Louis on Oct. 10. The teams skated to a scoreless draw in the second period, but the Kings essentially owned the third.
“I don’t know, something changed,” Kaprizov said. “But maybe a little bit (we) need more focus and play a little better 5-on-5.”
Fiala and Byfield each scored early in the third, the latter on a power-play goal, as the Kings made it a one-goal game late. With Kuemper pulled for an extra attacker, Kempe scored on a long rebound with 45 seconds left in regulation to tie it 3-3.
After watching teammates Kaprizov, Boldy and Vladimir Taresenko fail to crack Kuemper in the shootout, Rossi had a pretty good idea of how to attack with the game in the balance.
Rossi skated in from the right, faked a move, then fired a wrist shot top shelf.
“You can see what the goalie does,” Rossi said of watching the Wild’s first three tries. “He was really low in the net; that’s why, like, do a fake or like, a deke on him. Just had to fake it.”
And after being peppered with 13 shots in the third period, Wallstedt kept his composure and helped the Wild salvage the extra point.
“I thought Jesper played really well,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “These are some of those things you learn about your team. A young player that’s coming in, you have the lead, and then he gets under duress and makes some big saves. But a few found a way to go in. He came up huge for us in the overtime, and then, obviously, in the shootout.”
After the game, the Wild left for Dallas, where they’ll play the Stars on Tuesday night.
