Ryan Hartman scores twice, including milestone goal, as Wild top Kings 2-1 for third straight win

The shot that helped Ryan Hartman become a 30-goal scorer has resurfaced.

After his last two goals were deflections off his body — and the finish before that was a batted puck — Hartman finally converted with his stick, wiring in a pair of pucks to lift the Wild past the Kings 2-1 on Tuesday in front of an announced 18,012 at Xcel Energy Center and wrap the team's seven-game homestand with three consecutive victories.

"I usually use a new stick every game," Hartman said. "Our equipment manager said I didn't need one, so I had to show him."

Overall, the Wild went 4-2-1 in St. Paul and they've picked up at least a point in five of their past six games.

This is their first 3-0 run since Jan. 12-17, and they tied the Avalanche at 67 points although Colorado held onto third place in the Central Division because the Wild have played more games. They now have a four-point lead over Calgary for the second wild-card seed in the Western Conference, the reward for their rebound after the Wild sputtered at the start of this homestand.

"We played the way that we're supposed to play," coach Dean Evason said.

Hartman notched the 100th and 101st goals of his NHL career, his second multi-goal effort of the season giving him three tallies in his past two games.

He converted on a shot that sailed over Los Angeles goalie Pheonix Copley's right shoulder only 13 seconds into the second period before a slick glove-side wind-up with 4:48 to go in the third. Last season, Hartman set a career high with 34 goals, but he had a slow beginning before getting sidelined because of an injury. He's up to nine goals in 35 games, with almost half of that production coming since he was reunited with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello earlier this month.

"He's got that swagger back," Jake Middleton said. "He had a tough start to the year, obviously, with his shoulder, and that kind of thing going on. But he's getting his rhythm back. That line's playing really well, too. It's nice to see."

Before Hartman's blitz, the Kings used a coach's challenge to overturn what would have been Adam Beckman's first NHL goal, a shot on the power play; Hartman was offside.

"I feel bad," Hartman said. "Maybe I owe him some dinner or another goal."

The Wild finished 0-for-3 on the power play, while Los Angeles blanked on its lone look to signal 21 consecutive penalty kills for the Wild over a season-high eight consecutive games.

Not until 21 seconds were left in the third period did Kings captain Anze Kopitar spoil goaltender Filip Gustavsson's shutout bid, burying a loose puck in the crease.

"He made some big saves today because he had to," Hartman said, "but they don't look hard when he's making those type of saves. He's composed, and obviously we were trying to play for the shutout for him. It's on us. Obviously, it hit the post and off his back. But he deserved a shutout."

Gustavsson totaled 33 saves (Copley had 18), and this marked the 17th time in 24 starts Gustavsson has limited the opposition to two goals or less. During a 4-0-1 run, he's denied 145 of 153 shots he's faced during a 4-0-1 stretch for a 1.53 goals-against average and .948 save percentage. Since Nov. 19, Gustavsson is 14-4-1.

"I scored on Gus a lot in training camp," Middleton said. "I was a little nervous because I'm not typically a goal scorer. Then as soon as the games started, he's been lights-out ever since.

"He was giving me confidence to start the year. That's what it was."

The way the Wild concluded this homestand probably upped everyone's morale.

"We had a little dip in our confidence, and it didn't feel like the bounces went our way," Gustavsson said. "We just had to kind of force it, get more people to the net, get more shots there and then give them less opportunities to score on us."