National Hockey League
Los Angeles 7, Minnesota 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, October 19, 2023
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Kendrick Nicholson, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Tyson Baker
Attendance: 18689

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored two first-period goals in 12 seconds, and the Los Angeles Kings pulled away for a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.

Carl Grundstrom, Vladislav Gavrikov, Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe and Blake Lizotte also scored for the Kings, who posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Connor Dewar, Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek scored for Minnesota.

Kings goaltender Cam Talbot turned aside 29 of 32 shots against his former team to get the victory.

Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury gave up five goals on 25 shots.

The first period featured a barrage of scoring. By the time the horn blew to end the first 20 minutes, the teams had combined for a half-dozen goals, with the Kings ahead 4-2.

Grundstrom started the scoring for Los Angeles only 2:39 after the opening faceoff. He picked up a loose puck near the top of the right circle and beat Fleury with a snap shot for his second goal of the season.

The Wild pulled even less than four minutes later. A long entry pass ricocheted off the glass behind the net and into the slot, where Dewar quickly capitalized for his second goal.

Minnesota pulled ahead 2-1 on Kaprizov's second goal 99 seconds later. He deflected a shot from the point by Jonas Brodin.

The Kings answered with 4:14 remaining in the first period. Gavrikov punched in a loose puck from the front of the net for his second goal.

Dubois scored twice in 12 seconds in the final minute of the first period to make it 4-2. His first goal bounced off his skates and trickled between Fleury's legs, and moments later he buried a wrist shot from the slot for his second marker of the game and his third of the season.

Midway through the third period, Los Angeles increased its lead to 5-2. Moore went to his forehand and flipped a shot over Fleury's right shoulder for his fourth goal of the campaign.

Minnesota cut the deficit to 5-3 with 5:22 remaining in the third period. Eriksson Ek scored his fourth goal of the season off a feed from Marcus Johansson.

Kempe added an empty-net goal with 2:19 to go.

Then, with 1:08 remaining, Lizotte tallied a short-handed goal to finish the scoring.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Minnesota
Pierre-Luc Dubois 2 Points Connor Dewar 1
Pierre-Luc Dubois 2 Goals Connor Dewar 1
Kevin Fiala 2 Assists Jonas Brodin 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
Blake Lizotte 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Cam Talbot .906 Save Percentage Marc-Andre Fleury .800
Cam Talbot 29 Saves Marc-Andre Fleury 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 27 7 0-0 4-4 8 26
Minnesota 32 3 0-4 0-0 0 40
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Wild have a W/L % of .333 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Boston. The Kings have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .333 after a loss.