Kuemper went more than three months between starts last season before getting into the Wild’s second-to-last game and beating Nashville. Kuemper stood strong stopping them all keeping the Wild in the game. The only goal the Kings scored in regulation was a power play rush goal by Tyler Toffoli; Jeff Carter burst into the zone with speed, Milan Lucic lasered a saucer pass about six inches off the ice, and Toffoli knocked it down before quickly putting the puck in the top corner. He was moving well laterally, tracking the puck well, and played big in the net.
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Since there isn’t much to report on with no game tonight, I thought I’d post a few notes and links for you to take a look at. Mike Yeo held his team on the bench as he challenged the goal as potentially the Kings had been offside. He talked about how encouraged he was by backup goalie Darcy Kuemper’s outstanding play and the fact that the Wild mustered the energy to dominate the third period. Kuemper did exactly what he needed to do to make a statement about his game and to prove that he is more than capable of playing in big spots. Semyon Varlamov has allowed 13 goals on 82 shots faced and Reto Berra has given up zero goals on 40 shots. Kopitar has played at least 21:25 in every game this season.
Just three games into their 2015-16 campaign and the Los Angeles Kings might already be in trouble. They were sloppy, they were slow, and zone exiting was a chore Friday night. Mikko Koivu ripped home the rebound of Zach Parise’s slap shot one minute into the powerplay.
The Kings would fail to find the net in 5-on-5 play, but that wasn’t for lack of effort. A backhand from the slot pulled the Wild even with the Kings on the scoreboard.
Los Angeles had a couple of excellent chances to end their power-play starvation in the first period after Minnesota defenseman Matt Dumba was sent off for holding Kopitar at the 8:44 mark.
To overtime and the first Wild 3v3 overtime ever.
Anze Kopitar is playing too much, and his coach knows it, but what to do?
The Kings killed a high-sticking penalty called on Jordan Nolan at 17:57 of the third period, sending the game to the new three-on-three overtime. The Kings have had above-average numbers of power plays and penalty kills, but Kopitar is playing more than usual out of necessity. It also ended an 0-for-15 drought on power-play goals.
The Wild will now travel down Highway 5 to Anaheim and will take on the Ducks.
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Carolina came out to a blistering start at Joe Louis Arena, with Brock McGinn’s 1-0 goal coming 55 seconds in and Eric Staal helping them build a 3-0 lead.
