7 p.m. vs. Los Angeles • Xcel Energy Center • FSN, 100.3-FM
Wild-Los Angeles game preview
The Wild (4-2) sits in second place in the West Division, two points behind Vegas and one ahead of St. Louis.
January 26, 2021 at 3:07AM
Kings getting a quick rematch
Preview: The Wild (4-2) sits in second place in the West Division, two points behind Vegas and one ahead of St. Louis. Minnesota will face Los Angeles (2-2-2) on Tuesday and Thursday in the middle two games of a six-game homestand. The Wild opened the season with back-to-back 4-3 overtime wins against the Kings in which rookie LW Kirill Kaprizov first scored the winner, then set up Marcus Johansson's winner. The Wild rallied from two goals down in both of those games.
Players to watch: Kaprizov leads the Wild with six points (1-5-6). LW's Zach Parise and Kevin Fiala each scored their first two goals of the season in the series vs. San Jose. … C Anze Kopitar leads the NHL with nine assists and is tied for the scoring lead with 10 points. He has 41 points (13-28-41) in 50 career games against Minnesota. C Adrian Kempe, C Gabriel Vilardi and LW Andreas Anthanasiou share the Kings' goal-scoring lead with three each.
Numbers: The Wild's power play (2-for-27, 7.4%) ranks 29th in the NHL, while its penalty kill (18-for-20, 90%) ranks second. … L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick is 14-8-7 with a 2.66 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in 29 career starts vs. Minnesota.
Injuries: Wild G Cam Talbot (lower body) is day to day. G Alex Stalock (upper body) and F Mats Zuccarello (arm) are out. … Kings LW Matt Luff (undisclosed) is day to day. C Alex Turcotte (lower body) and RW Martin Frk (lower body) are out.
Randy Johnson
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The Wild are off to one of the best starts in franchise history, and Kirill Kaprizov is tied for the NHL scoring lead.
