LOS ANGELES — The Kings’ recent inability to hold leads took a backseat to their ability to gain them as they had five separate one-goal edges in a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild in a shootout at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday evening.
The Kings’ quality win, their second in six chances against the Central Division’s tremendous triumvirate of Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota, was their third triumph in 11 games overall.
Samuel Helenius scored a goal, as did Adrian Kempe, Corey Perry and Quinton Byfield, who tacked on an assist. Darcy Kuemper stopped 24 shots. Brandt Clarke netted the shootout-winning conversion.
Matt Boldy, Jake Middleton, Joel Eriksson Ek and Brock Faber each had a goal for Minnesota, with Faber adding a helper. Jesper Wallstedt halted 34 pucks.
In overtime, Clarke nearly set up Anže Kopitar for a winner but the pass sailed by him, setting up a two-on-one rush the other way, wherein Kuemper robbed Faber, one of multiple stellar stops in OT for the Canadian Olympian to be. The Kings also finished the bonus session with 92 seconds of four-on-three power play, but the game headed to a shootout nevertheless.
The Wild won in a shootout, 4-3, on Oct. 13. This time, Kempe converted off a low shot before Boldy deked Kuemper to score off his backhand, continuing the theme of response and reciprocity. Clarke then settled a rolling puck during his attempt, patiently approaching to rifle in the suspense-ending game-winner.
Minnesota scored a super-ball goal with 2:57 showing on the clock, off a shot that hit Kevin Fiala’s skate and then Boldy in front before caroming into the net.
With 7:51 remaining in regulation, Fiala, the former Wild winger, drew a crowd before spotting Helenius coming off the bench. His five-hole goal was his first of the season and gave the Kings a 4-3 edge.
At the 4:56 mark of the closing frame, the Kings had gone up when Byfield’s shot, forced miles wide and off the end boards, hit the posterior of Wallstedt and ended up going in the net off of Ryan Hartman during a scramble. The own goal was credited to Byfield, giving him an accidental goal and an accidental assist on Saturday.
It was the Kings’ longest-lived lead of the bout, 2:39.
Faber, the former Kings prospect, finished a tic-tac-toe play off the rush uncontested to tie it up anew.
The second period was scoreless for nearly 17 minutes, thanks to a diving play at the goal line by Mikey Anderson and a breakaway save on Kirill Karpizov by Kuemper, as well as some sound netminding from Wallstedt.
Yet the two sides would trade blows, as they did in the first period, this time on the power play.
With 3:03 remaining, the Kings converted with the extra man for the fourth straight game, their season-long streak. With a screener at each post, Byfield sent a low-flying shot that was headed wide of the far post. Though Perry’s stick was tied up effectively by Marcus Foligno, he reached his hand out ever so slightly to deflect the puck home off his glove. Perry has heated back up with six points during his four-game streak.
But just 86 seconds later, Minnesota equalized after the second penalty of the period for Byfield, who also drew an infraction.
Quinn Hughes calmly went back for a puck before casually making a three-line pass that split Kempe and Joel Edmundson to send Eriksson Ek in for a partial breakaway tally.
The Kings played an analytically strong opening stanza, mounted an 11-5 shot edge, and tried to take advantage of Minnesota having played 22½ hours earlier. In the end, the 20 minutes represented a swap of goals.
The Kings kicked it off with a goal off their forecheck, 6:08 after the puck dropped.
Anže Kopitar stripped Hughes behind the net and found Kempe for a kneeling one-timer from close range.
But 2:20 later, Minnesota knotted it up and that 1-1 count would stand at the intermission.
Byfield and Warren Foegele just could not get on the same page. First, Byfield tried to rim the puck around, but the pass went nowhere after Foegele was late attempting to pursue it. When Minnesota recovered the puck, both Byfield and Foegele went to Eriksson Ek, leaving Middleton wide open at the left point, a snapper that leveled the match.
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