The Kings picked up their second win in as many nights on Wednesday with a 6-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Now having outscored their opponents 12-2 across the last 48 hours, the Kings further distanced themselves from the Wild Card race and sit four points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The offense struck early on Wednesday as Phillip Danault netted his second goal in as many nights 5:08 into the game, deflecting in a Trevor Moore shot after a Kevin Fiala takeaway. Nearly 10 minutes later, the Kings added to their lead, this time on the power play. Picking up the goal was Fiala who beat Marc-Andre Fleury glove side from the slot for his second point of the game and 23rd goal of the season. Just over a minute later, the Kings extended their lead even further as Viktor Arvidsson netted his first goal of the season in his return to the lineup. After missing the last 14 games due to a lower-body injury, Arvidsson played beneficiary as a centering pass deflected off of a Wild defender and through the five hole of Fleury.
Up 3-0 entering the second period, the Kings matched the offense produced in first 20 minutes with another three goals in the middle frame. Beginning with Matt Roy, the defenseman notched his fourth goal of the year when he found a deflected pass arrive on his tape in the slot 28 seconds in. Another Kings defenseman got in on the action as Jordan Spence buried his second goal on the season when his passing attempt from the point deflected off of Marcus Fologno’s stick and into the Wild net. That goal resulted in the end of Fleury’s night with his stat line showing 11 saves on 16 shots.
Now up 5-0, the Kings sixth and final goal of the game came Anze Kopitar, his 23rd goal of the season and 1,201st career point (416-785=1,201). Kopitar’s two-point night put him in company with only Marcel Dionne (550-757=1,307) as Kings players to have reached the 1,200 career points threshold.
David Rittich took the net for the Kings on Wednesday and stopped all 31 Wild shots for his third shutout of the season. Rittich’s record now stands at 11-5-3.
