Wild Fall to the Kings 4-2

Andrei Kuzmenko recorded a goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-2 on Monday night.

Warren Foegele, Kevin Fiala, and Adrian Kempe also found the back of the net for Los Angeles, while Darcy Kuemper turned aside 33 shots. The Kings earned their second win over Minnesota in three nights and picked up just their fourth victory in the past 12 games.

For the Wild, Jared Spurgeon finished with a goal and an assist, and Ryan Hartman added a goal. Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves, but Minnesota saw its six-game point streak come to an end. The Wild are now 3-1-2 on a seven-game road trip that concludes Thursday in Seattle. They also dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to the Kings on Saturday.

Los Angeles played most of the game without captain Anze Kopitar, who exited after just 4:54 of ice time in the first period due to a lower-body injury. Head coach Jim Hiller said there was no update following the game, though Kopitar was seen leaving the locker room without a noticeable limp or any supportive equipment.

The Kings controlled play in the second period, outshooting Minnesota 16-8 and scoring twice to take a 2-0 lead. Despite having two power-play opportunities in the period, the Wild managed only one shot.

Foegele opened the scoring with 4:26 remaining in the second, firing a long shot from just inside the blue line. Fiala made it 2-0 late in the period when Kuzmenko’s pass deflected off his skate at the left post and slipped past Gustavsson.

Spurgeon got Minnesota on the board at 5:55 of the third period, firing a point shot through traffic to end Kuemper’s shutout bid. Kuzmenko responded at 9:20, skating across the front of the net and scoring from the right side to restore the two-goal cushion.

Hartman pulled the Wild within one on a power-play goal with 4:39 remaining, but Kempe sealed the victory with an empty-net goal three minutes later.