Wild’s hot streak hits a snag with 4-1 loss to Los Angeles Kings

By Sarah McLellan, Star Tribune – December 8, 2024

LOS ANGELES – No one has stumped the Wild like the Kings have.

After handing the Wild their most lopsided loss earlier in the season, Los Angeles delivered another blow on Saturday night by cooling the Wild 4-1 at Crypto.com Arena to end their season-long five-game win streak.

“I just don’t think we’re as clean against them,” Marcus Foligno said, “and they’re a good team.”

This was only the Wild’s fifth regulation loss (18-5-4), and the Kings are the only team to deny the Wild points twice. Although their 40 points are tied with the Capitals and Jets for the most in the NHL, the Wild dropped to second because Washington has won more games in regulation.

Los Angeles’ Adrian Kempe scored a last-minute goal in the first period to put an exclamation point on a forgettable start by the Wild that bled into the second where the Kings widened their lead on the power play before Trevor Moore buried two empty-netters 49 seconds apart in the third.

Yakov Trenin had the Wild’s lone goal, his second in as many games after going goalless through his first 25 games.

“Effort’s there,” Foligno said. “It’s just you’re a little ticked off because it’s another outcome against these guys that ends the same way.”

Former Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper picked up a victory in his return to the crease from injury, making 22 saves, while Marc-Andre Fleury had 30 stops in his first regulation loss of the season after starting 5-0-1.

Fleury was the only fresh face in the lineup, as everyone else played the previous night in the 5-1 romp at Anaheim, and Wild skaters didn’t bring their execution with them on the ride from Orange County.

“Pucks were bouncing,” Foligno said, “and we weren’t as crisp as we usually are.”

The Wild were glitchy but kept pace with Los Angeles thanks to Fleury’s initial 11 saves. But the Kings exited the first period ahead after Kempe crashed the crease to redirect a puck in off his skate with 43 seconds left. Anze Kopitar, appearing in his 1,400th game, had the setup.

“A guy like Kopitar has been there for a long time, so I think it’s in their identity to play hard and defend well and they certainly do that,” coach John Hynes said. “That’s why they are regularly a strong, competitive team in the league.”

The second period was worse for the Wild.

Not only did they register just three shots, but they whiffed on the power play (0-for-2) and gave up an insurance goal during the Kings’ first of two chances.

While Marcus Johansson was in the penalty box for kneeing, a collision with Vladislav Gavrikov that left Johansson slow to get up, Los Angeles went up 2-0 on a left-side shot from Alex Laferriere at 8:33 that former Wild forward Kevin Fiala factored into for his 10th point in eight games vs. the Wild since they traded him to the Kings for Brock Faber and a first-round draft pick (Liam Ohgren) in 2022.

“I don’t know what I could do differently there to avoid it,” Johansson said.

Finally in the third, the Wild made a last-ditch attempt to close the gap, getting off 14 shots.

But the Kings were still in control: Moore had empty-netters at 18:06 and 18:55. In between, Trenin wrecked Kuemper’s shutout bid with 1:13 to go.

“I don’t think we had our legs as much, and I think our breakouts were just sloppy,” Foligno said. “Our forecheck wasn’t there until halfway through the game, and I just think they’re good. They’re smart. They get back. They fight to live another day.

“We’ve got to do a better job of the possession game against them. You’ve got to be opportunistic, too. I miss a breakaway. We missed some chances in the first that you could easily score. So, you’ve got to be opportunistic against a team like this and score first and get your rhythm going.”

This was a closer finish than when the Kings ran away 5-1 on Nov. 5 at Xcel Energy Center after converting three goals in the third period, but the Wild lacked the decisiveness and cohesiveness that led to their recent tear and have been their hallmarks on the road where they dropped to 11-2-3 to end a nine-game point streak. Kirill Kaprizov was held pointless for just the fifth time.

“We quite couldn’t get anything going,” Johansson said.

But this trip can still end on the upswing if the Wild rebound on Tuesday in their first game at Utah since the team relocated from Arizona.

“When you look at the circumstances we were under and how we played and the push in the third period,” Hynes said, “that teamwork and mentality is going to win you more games than it’s going to lose you.”