The Minnesota Wild, currently on a season-high five-game winning streak, will face a quick turnaround as they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
On Friday, the Wild won 5-1 against the Anaheim Ducks, following a scoreless first period. Marco Rossi scored twice and added an assist, while Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy also had three-point games. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 26 saves.
The Wild, with an NHL-best 40 points, have been excellent on the road, extending their away points streak to nine games (7-0-2). Kaprizov has been a key player, recording points in 13 straight road games and leading the league with 42 points in 25 games.
“The team keeps winning and it’s easy to play for myself and it’s easy to play for the whole team,” Kaprizov said. “You come to the rink and you love to come here. Everybody is smiling, joking around and having some fun. You go into the game and try to show your best.”
Minnesota’s winning streak began just before Thanksgiving in Buffalo. During this stretch, the Wild have displayed the best defense in the NHL, allowing only 1.4 goals per game, and have given up a league-low 61 goals this season.
Against the Ducks, Rossi scored both of his goals early in the second period, and Boldy added another in a six-minute span. Kaprizov assisted on two of the second-period goals and scored early in the third. He became the fastest player in franchise history to reach 40 points, surpassing his previous record from the 2022-23 season.
“He’s a maniac, he’s insane,” Boldy said of Kaprizov. “It’s fun to watch and it’s fun to be out there with him.”
The Kings are also on a strong run, winning four straight games, including a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Despite trailing 2-0 after the first period, they rallied in the second and took the lead early in the third, with Warren Foegele scoring the game-winner. Foegele and Tanner Jeannot each scored a goal and recorded an assist, while Joel Edmundson also found the net.
“They’re just hard workers,” Edmundson said of Foegele and Jeannot. “The way the game was going, it was going to be a couple of greasy goals, and they’re just around the net. That’s their game, and nothing too flashy. … Every team needs guys like that.”
The Wild and Kings last played on Nov. 5 in Minnesota, with the Kings winning 5-1. Trevor Lewis scored twice in the third period to seal the win. It was the Wild’s only loss in a six-game stretch and one of just two losses during a 9-2-0 run.
However, Lewis has struggled since then, failing to score in the Kings’ next 11 games, and he was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a lower-body injury. The injury-plagued Wild are also missing key players, including forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello, as well as defenseman Jonas Brodin.
