LOS ANGELES – Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle and Erik Haula all scored for Minnesota as the Wild spoiled LA Kings goalie Jonathan Quick's 30th Birthday with a 3-0 shutout at Staples Center on Thursday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Minnesota Wild entered the game on a five-game losing streak as their seemingly sickly offense struggled over the past two weeks. Minnesota was 24-2 on the season when they scored first, so jumping on the Kings early was extremely important.
After a scoreless first period that saw former LA Kings center, Jarret Stoll, honored on the ice with a video tribute, the Wild opened up the scoring in the second period with a power play goal by Zach Parise.
"I think we needed it for our own psyche," Parise said. "It's been getting tough for us lately – losing a lot of games and not producing on offense. It's been really tough and frustrating."
Thomas Vanek sent Parise a one-timer that the LW was able to send a slapshot past Jonathan Quick for the game's first goal. Parise's goal was also Minnesota's first power play goal of 2016, a drought that spanned 21 days.
Marco Scandella flipped a pass over the Wild zone and into the Kings zone where Charlie Coyle raced to the puck and buried it into the back of the net on a fast break.
Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter challenged the play, calling Coyle offsides, but after a replay review, the call stood and the Wild took a 2-0 lead.
The Kings had an opportunity to comeback in the third period when Coyle was charged for high-sticking, putting Los Angeles on the power play. The Kings had their chances, but couldn't put the puck in the net and Minnesota went on the attack and scored a shorthanded goal.
Ryan Suter, Mikko Koivu and Erik Haula raced down the ice for a three-on-one fast break that saw Koivu feed Haula with a pass that just got under Drew Doughty's stick and the Wild went up 3-0.
"Chase the lead. Chase the game. Score the first goal, might be different," Sutter said after the game. "No excuses. We los opportunities in the first period to go up one or two."
The win snaps the Wild's five-game losing streak as they hand the Kings just their third shutout of the season and first since Dec. 19th against Toronto.
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The Wild are now 25-2 when they score first.
TURNING POINT
Marco Scandella's pass. The defenseman's puck flip over center ice turned a one-goal game into a two-goal game.
MVP OF THE GAME
Darcy Kuemper. Minnesota's third-string goalie made 32 saves and got the shutout in the second night of a back-to-back.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Jake Muzzin's point streak was snapped at eight games.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
#LAKings Tweets: BOOM @tytoff16 making wedding dreams come true for @alliemegs @LAKings pic.twitter.com/WYOQf8ei4X https://t.co/xstHjKKw8H — LA Kings (@lakingspress) January 22, 2016
Tyler Toffoli crashes an LA Kings themed wedding before the game.
PHOTO OF THE NIGHT
Happy Birthday, Jonathan! ���� pic.twitter.com/Rvuttj0g7e — LA Kings (@LAKings) January 21, 2016
Happy Birthday Quickie!
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
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"Maybe it's the California girls." – Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper on why he has success in California arenas.
NOTES
It was Jarret Stoll's first game against the Kings since he totaled 214 points in 506 games over the span of seven seasons with Los Angeles… Justin Fontaine, Tyson Stachan and goalie Niklas Backstrom were scratched for Minnesota…Christian Ehrhoff and Andy Andreoff were scratched for Los Angeles… It was Jonathan Quick, Bryaden McNabb, and Ryan Suter's birthday on Thursday.
RECORD
Minnesota Wild (23-16, 54 points) 4th in the Central Division.
Los Angeles Kings (29-14, 61 points) 1st in the Pacific Division.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Wild conclude their three-game California road trip when they head north to the Shark Tank to take on San Jose on Saturday night.
The Kings travel to Phoenix to tackle the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.
