7 p.m. vs. Los Angeles • Xcel Energy Center • NBCSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Wild's franchise-record-long eight-game homestand (4-2-1) comes to an end with the front end of back-to-back home/road games; the Wild plays in Winnipeg on Tuesday. The Wild's coming off its five-day "bye." Teams coming off their bye are 7-15-4 (4-11-3 in February). The Kings, outside the playoff bubble, have lost six of nine but are coming off a big win over Anaheim. The Wild is 4-0-2 in its past six vs. the Kings.
Players to watch: Wild RW Jason Pominville has 20 points in the past 16 games. Since becoming a line Nov. 25, Jason Zucker-Mikko Koivu-Mikael Granlund has a combined 45 goals, 69 assists and 114 points. Koivu has 33 points in 35 meetings with L.A. Granlund leads the Wild with 14 multipoint games. He has 24 points in the past 20 games. C Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 29 points in 38 games against Minnesota. C Jeff Carter is tied for second in the NHL with 30 goals. RW Marian Gaborik is the Wild's all-time leading goal scorer, but he was a healthy scratch Saturday.
Numbers: The Wild is 13-6-4 in its past 23 games against the Kings with six of the games decided in a shootout. The Wild's 13-4-4 in its past 21 meetings with L.A. at home. … The Wild leads the Western Conference with 195 goals scored and 3.31 goals per game; the Kings rank 25th in the NHL at 2.44 goals per game.
Injuries: Kings D Matt Greene (back), D Paul LaDue (upper body) and C Jordan Nolan (leg) are out.
