MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:
SERIES NOTES
All-Time Wild Record: 40-25-15 (22-10-8 at Xcel Energy Center, 18-15-7 at Los Angeles)
2022-23:Minnesota fell 7-6 to Los Angeles on Oct. 15… C Joel Eriksson Ek (1-1=2), LW Marcus Foligno (1-0=1), LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-1=2), D Jake Middleton (1-0=1), C Sam Steel (1-0=1) and RW Mats Zuccarello (1-2=3) scored for the Wild…D Calen Addison (0-1=1), LW Matt Boldy (0-2=2), D Jonas Brodin (0-1=1), D Matt Dumba (0-1=1), C Ryan Hartman (0-1=1) and D Jared Spurgeon (0-1=1) all recorded assists…G Filip Gustavsson stopped 17-of-20 shots, while G Marc-Andre Fluery stopped 10-of-14 shots…D Drew Doughty (1-0=1), D Matt Roy (1-1=2), LW Kevin Fiala (1-2=3), LW Alex Iafallo (1-1=2), C Adrian Kempe (2-1=3) and C Gabriel Vilardi (1-1=2) scored for the Kings…D Mikey Anderson (0-2=2), C Quinton Byfield (0-1=1), RW Arthur Kaliyev (0- 1=1), C Anze Kopitar (0-3=3) and LW Brendan Lemieux (0-1=1) recorded assists…G Cal Petersen stopped 29-of-35 shots.
WILD LEADERS: D Alex Goligoski leads Minnesota with 29 points (4-25=29) in 52 games vs. Los Angeles…Zuccarello owns 17 points (5-12=17) in 25 contests…Dumba has 13 points (5-6=1)1 in 27 games…Kaprizov has 13 points (8-5=13) in 12 games…Spurgeon has 13 points (4-9=13) in 37 games.
WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 12-8-4 with a 2.64 GAA, a .914 SV% and three shutouts in 25 career starts against the Kings…Gustavsson is 0-3-0 with a
3.10 GAA and a .913 SV% in two starts.
KINGS LEADERS: Kopitar leads Los Angeles with 52 points (15-37=52) in 60 games vs. Minnesota…Doughty owns 33 points (7-26=33) in 50 contests…D Alexander Edler has 24 points (4-20=24) in 51 games…RW Viktor Arvidsson has 12 points (5-7=12) in 22 contests.
KINGS GOALIES: G Jonathan Quick is 16-11-7 with a 2.63 GAA, a .902 SV% and one shutout in 34 career starts against the Wild…Petersen is 3-2-1 with a 3.81 GAA and a .881 SV% in six starts.
FAST FACTS: Minnesota is 17-7-4 in the last 28 games vs. Los Angeles with 14 of the games decided by one goal…The Wild is 21-6-5 in the last 32 contests played at Xcel Energy Center…Minnesota owns points in 11 of its last 17 games at Crypto.com Arena (8-6-3).
INJURIES
Brandon Duhaime: upper body
Marcus Foligno: upper body
Jordan Greenway: upper body
Ryan Hartman: upper body
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
11/6/22 Recalled F Adam Beckman and F Joseph Cramarossa from Iowa
11/3/22 Reassigned F Steven Fogarty to Iowa
10/31/22 Recalled F Steven Fogarty from Iowa
10/29/22 Assigned D Dakota Mermis to Iowa
GOALS, GOALS, GOALS
ON THE POWER PLAY
• Minnesota has scored three-plus goals in 31 of its last 35 regular-season contests, including nine of 11 games this season and 22 of the last 24 games of the 2021-22 campaign.
• Dating dating back to March 16, 2022, the Wild have posted a +26 goal differential in regular-season games, the fifth-best mark in the NHL during that span behind Vegas (+35), Boston (+34), Edmonton (+33) and Tampa Bay (+29).
• The Wild ranked fifth in the NHL in goals/game last season (3.72), netting three-plus goals in 66-of-82 games.
• Minnesota scored a franchise record 305 goals last season (not including shootout goals).
ON THE POWER PLAY
• Through ten games the Wild has converted ten of its 38 powerplay opportunities (26.3 pct.), the sixth-best rate in the league.
2022-23 NHL Power-Play Pct.
Through Nov. 6, 2022
Rk. Team GP PPG PPO Pct.
- Colorado………………….11 ……….13………. 34…………………38.2
- Edmonton ………………..12 ……….15………. 47…………………31.9
- Vancouver………………..10 ……….13………. 43…………………30.2
- Dallas……………………..12 ……….12………. 41…………………29.3
- Arizona…………………….11 ……….11………. 38…………………28.9
- Minnesota ……………….11 ……….10………. 38…………………26.3
• Minnesota has recorded a power-play goal in seven of 11 games this season.
• The Wild tallied a power-play goal in each of its first five games of the 2022-23 season, the franchise’s longest power-play goal streak to open a season since a franchise-best six-game streak in 2010-11.
WE’RE GOING BACK-TO-BACK
• The Wild will play its second of 12 sets of back-to-back games against Los Angeles and Anaheim. Since the start of the 2021- 22 season, the Wild is 11-3-1 in the first game and 9-4-2 in the second game of back-to-backs.
WE’RE HEADED TO OVERTIME
• Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Minnesota leads the NHL with 18 overtime victories.
Overtime NHL Wins since 2021-22 Season
Through Nov. 6, 2022
Rk. Team Wins
- Minnesota …………………………………………………………………..18
- Florida ………………………………………………………………………..17
- Dallas…………………………………………………………………………15
4t. Boston ………………………………………………………………………..14
4t. Chicago………………………………………………………………………14
• During the 2021-22 season, the Wild ranked second in the NHL with a franchise record 11 overtime wins and ranked tied for second with five shootout wins.
• Minnesota went 16-7 in 23 extra session games during the 2021-22 season – its most extra session contests since 23 in 2013-14. The 16 extra session wins are the second-most in team history (17 in 2006-07).
LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:
NOV. 8 vs. MINNESOTA – 7:30 PM PT // Venue: Crypto.com Arena // TV: ESPN+, Hulu // Radio: iHeartRadio, Tu Liga
- The LA Kings host the Minnesota for the second of three meetings between the clubs (7-6 W, Oct. 15; Feb. 21 at MIN).
- Tonight’s game is the first of the Kings’ three-game homestand (Nov. 8 vs. MIN; Nov. 10 vs. CHI; Nov. 12 vs. DET).
- The Kings aim for their second consecutive win over the Wild.
WARM-UPS
1) LA’s 33 five-on-five goals on the year rank first in the league.
2) LA’s 107 points by forwards are the second-most by any team in the league behind Edmonton (110).
3) Under Todd McLellan’s helm, only Colorado (89) has drawn more penalties against the Wild than the Kings (65) during that time (2019-Pres.)
4) The Doughty-Anderson defensive pairing have 225 shot attempts for, the second-most in the league behind Carolina’s SlavinBurns pairing (241).
5) The Kings and Panthers combined for three second-period goals in a 52-second span last Saturday night. They were the fastest three goals in a game this season (Rasmus Kupari – LAK, 9:27 of 2nd period; Carter Verhaeghe – FLA, 9:45 of 2nd period; Trevor Moore – LAK, 10:19 of 2nd period).
VS. MINNESOTA ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 35-2-5-13
Home: 20-12-2-6
Away: 15-15-3-7
OT: 10-13-5
Shootout: 4-6
2021-22: 1-2-0
Franchise Leaders vs. MINNESOTA:
Anze Kopitar* – 60 GP, 52 PTS (15-37=52)
Dustin Brown – 60 GP, 34 PTS (18-16=34)
Drew Doughty* – 50 GP, 33 PTS (7-26=33)
Jeff Carter – 30 GP, 25 PTS (11-14=25)
Justin Williams – 19 GP, 15 PTS (7-8=15)
*-denotes active roster player
LAST MEETING vs. MINNESOTA: Oct. 15, 2022 – LAK 7 vs. MIN 6
Venue: Xcel Energy Center
LAK Goals: Kempe (2, 3), Vilardi (2), Doughty (1), Iafallo (2), Fiala (1), Roy (1)
MIN Goals: Middleton (1), Foligno (1), Eriksson Ek (1), Kaprizov (1), Zuccarello (2), Steel (1)
Goalies: LAK: Petersen (W, 29 saves, 36 shots) MIN: Fleury (10 saves, 14 shots); Gustavsson (L, 17 saves, 20 shots)
LAK PP: 2-for-6
LAK PK: 3-for-6
THE NEXT THREE:
Thurs., Nov. 10 | vs. Chicago | 7:30 p.m. PT | ESPN+/Hulu | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Andreas Athanasiou returns to Crypto.com Arena for the first time since signing with Chicago in the
offseason.
Sat., Nov. 12 | vs. Detroit | 7:30 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Trevor Moore has five points (1-4=5) in three career games against Detroit.
Mon., Nov. 14 | at Calgary | 5:30 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Viktor Arvidsson appeared in his 400th career NHL game last season against Calgary on Dec. 2, 2021.
INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Alex Iafallo, 10 games, Oct. 18 – Pres. (lower-body)
F Quinton Byfield, 6 games, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (illness)
F Viktor Arvidsson, 2 games, Oct. 13 (illness); Oct. 25 (illness)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 18
RECENT TRANSACTIONS (as of 11/8/22)
Oct. 29 – Rasmus Kupari (F) recalled from Ontario (AHL).
Nov. 4 – Rasmus Kupari (F) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Nov. 5 – Rasmus Kupari (F) recalled from Ontario (AHL).
Nov. 6 – Quinton Byfield (F) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
LA KINGS TEAM NOTES:
VILARDI PARTY
Gabriel Vilardi skates into tonight’s game with a team-leading nine goals on the season following his game-deciding goal with just over three and a half minutes left in the third period Saturday night against Florida to set LA up for their seventh win of the season, 5-4. In 14 games played, Vilardi has registered 14 points (9-5=14), which is tied for most on the team with Kevin Fiala (3-11=14). His nine goals rank tied for fourth in the league and sits four behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (13) for the league lead. Vilardi’s nine goals leads all skaters 23 years of age or younger while his 14 points are tied for fifth-most. Seven of Vilardi’s nine goals have come at even-strength, the second-most in the league behind San Jose’s Erik Karlsson. Vilardi’s five multi-point games on the season leads the team in multi-point performances and places second in players 23 years or younger behind Dallas’ Jason Robertson (6). Vilardi currently sits one goal shy of tying his career-high of 10 previously set in the 2020-21 season through 54 games. With two game-winning goals on the season, Vilardi is also one goal from tying his career-high of three also set in the 2020-21 season.
ON THE (SWISS) WATCH FOR 300
Kevin Fiala enters tonight with nine points in his last seven games (2-7=9) following a season-long five game point streak from Oct. 25 to Nov. 1. Fiala’s primary assist on Rasmus Kupari’s second period goal Saturday night against the Panthers moved him within three points of his 300th career point. In 433 career NHL games, Fiala has amassed 127 goals, 170 assists and 297 points with 27 powerplay goals and 23 game-winning goals. Prior to tonight, Fiala has accumulated 14 points (3-11=14) in 14 games played this season. With three more points, Fiala can become the fourth Swiss-born player in league history to record 300 NHL points and the eighth member from the 2014 NHL Draft class:
Swiss-born players with 300+ NHL points
Player GP Points
Roman Josi* 772 549 (142-407=549)
Mark Streit 786 434 (96-338=434)
Nino Niederreiter* 744 376 (187-189=376)
Kevin Fiala* 433 297 (127-170=297)
Timo Meier* 408 275 (128-147=275)
*denotes active player
Fiala, who was traded to LA on June 29, 2022 from Minnesota in exchange for a 2022 first-round draft pick and defenseman Brock Faber, returned to Minnesota for the first time since his trade earlier this season on Oct. 15, 2022. Fiala registered his ninth-three-point game of his career (1-2=3), including his first goal and three points with the LA Kings. He also became the second natural Swiss-born player in franchise history to record a point.
STAT OF THE GAME
Defenseman Drew Doughty has tallied at least a point in each of his last five games against the Wild (2-5=7), dating back to Feb. 27, 2021. Doughty’s five game point streak against Minnesota is the second-longest active streak against such team in the league behind Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen’s of nine games (7-7=14). Doughty’s 33 points (7-26=33) against the Wild are the most among active defensemen in the league:
Most points versus Wild among active defensemen
Player GP Points
Drew Doughty (LAK) 50 33 (7-26=33)
Roman Josi (NSH) 38 30 (13-17=30)
Brent Burns (CAR) 39 28 (8-20=28)
Erik Karlsson (SJS) 24 27 (8-19=27)
Shea Weber (MTL) 47 26 (6-20=26)
Doughty, who is in his 15th season with the LA Kings, has amassed 133 goals, 440 assists, 573 points with a plus-33, 70 power-play goals, 253 power-play points and 28 game-winning goals in 1,028 games played. His games played, assists and points all rank first in LA Kings history among defensemen while his 133 goals sit in second, 28 behind Rob Blake for most all-time.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
The last time the LA Kings squared off against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 15, forward Anze Kopitar tallied his 23rd career three-assist (0-3=3) game, moving him into sole possession of third place on the LA Kings all-time points list with 1,071 points (365-706=1,071) at the time, surpassing Dave Taylor (431-638=1,069). Kopitar currently sits 75 points behind Luc Robitaille for the second-most in LA Kings history:
LA Kings All-Time Points List
Player GP G A PTS
Marcell Dionne 912 550 757 1,307
Luc Robitaille 1,077 557 597 1,154
Anze Kopitar 1,224 366 707 1,073
Dave Taylor 1,111 431 638 1,069
Wayne Gretzky 539 246 672 918
Kopitar earned two assists in LA’s last game on Saturday, Nov. 5, for his third multi-assist game of the season and 130th of his career. His primary assist on Viktor Arvidsson’s second period power-play goal was the 280th power-play assist of his career, surpassing Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (279) for the third-most in the league among active players. In his seventh season as captain of the LA Kings, Kopitar has led the Kings in points 14 of the last 15 seasons. Since being named captain ahead of the 2016-17 season, Kopitar has led the Kings in scoring with 124 goals, 271 assists and 395 points in 460 games. Last season, Kopitar registered 67 points (19-48=67) in 81 games, eclipsing the 50-point plateau for the 15th time in his career and ninth consecutive season. In doing so, he became the first Kings skater to reach such mark for 15 seasons and the fourth to do so in nine straight.
The 2022-23 season marks Quick’s 15th NHL season in the crease for the Kings. Quick, who has now played in 722 career games, currently sits second for most games played among active goaltenders behind Marc Andre-Fleury (948). In the Kings season-opener on Oct. 11, which moved Quick into sole possession of second place with his 713rd career game, he stopped 47-of-51 shots, marking the most saves by a Kings goaltender in a season-opening game previously set by Rogie Vachon (45 on Oct. 7, 1972 at PIT). Overall, his 47-save performance ranked third-most in a season-opening game in league history behind Tomas Vokoun (52) and Jeff Hackett (48).
Last season, Quick eclipsed the 20-win plateau for the ninth time in his career, posting a 23-13-9 record in 46 games with a 2.59 GAA and .910 SV%. On Dec. 9, 2021, he collected his 56th career shutout, making him the 23rd goaltender in NHL history to reach such mark. Quick won his 350th career game on Feb. 25, 2022 in Anaheim, becoming the fourth American-born goaltender to reach such mark, following Ryan Miller (391), John Vanbiesbrouck (374) and Tom Barrasso (369). The Milford, Conn. native started his 700th career game on Mar. 13, 2022 versus Florida, putting him in elite company as the 30th goaltender in NHL history, and fourth U.S.-born, to play in 700 games.
FACEOFF FEVER
Forwards Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault have found consistency in the face-off circle this season centering the club’s top two lines – especially at even-strength. On Nov. 5, Danault’s even-strength faceoff winning percentage of 61.5% marked the ninth time in 14 games this season he’s had an EV faceoff winning percentage of 60% or higher. Anze Kopitar’s 62.5% even-strength faceoff winning percentage on Saturday night was the third consecutive game of a winning percentage over 60% and the eighth time in 14 games this season.
Kopitar and Danault are both top-five in the league for the highest even-strength faceoff winning percentage among all skaters (min. EV
Faceoffs: 160):
Highest EV Faceoff winning % among all skaters (min. EV Faceoffs: 160)
Player GP EV FO’s EV FO’s %
Ryan Johansen (NSH) 12 160 66.3%
Anze Kopitar (LAK) 14 195 63.6%
Patrice Bergeron (BOS) 13 212 62.3%
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (NYI) 13 172 60.5%
Phillip Danault (LAK) 14 166 59.6%
Over the last week, Kopitar’s 64.6% EV faceoff winning percentage of 64.6 ranks second in the league:
Highest EV Faceoff winning % among all skaters since Nov. 1 (min. EV FO: 40)
Player GP EV FO’s EV FO’s %
Bo Horvat (VAN) 3 47 68.1%
Anze Kopitar (LAK) 3 48 64.6%
Ryan Johansen (NSH) 3 47 63.8%
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (NYI) 4 61 62.3%
Aleksander Barkov (FLA) 4 83 60.2%
RAINING PPGs
With his secondary assist on Blake Lizotte’s third period goal last Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, Arthur Kaliyev extended his point streak to a career-long four games (2-2=4). Kaliyev has registered six points (3-3=6) in his last seven games, including a team-leading three power-play goals. Kaliyev is three power-play goals shy of tying his career-best of six set last season through 80 games, which placed second among all rookies behind Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras (9):
Most PPGs among rookies last season
Player GP PPG
Trevor Zegras (ANA) 75 9
Arthur Kaliyev (LAK) 80 6
Lucas Raymond (DET) 82 5
Cole Caufield (MTL) 67 5
Six Players 3
Most points by an LA King since Feb. 16, 2018
Player GP Points
Anze Kopitar* 411 363 (118-245=363)
Drew Doughty* 367 223 (45-178=243)
Dustin Brown 359 217 (99-118=217)
Adrian Kempe* 404 195 (96-99=195)
Alex Iafallo* 365 173 (73-100=173)
*denotes active on LA Kings
With four more goals, Kempe can become the 11th player from the 2014 NHL Draft to eclipse 100 career goals while five more points will make him the 14th from his draft to reach 200 career points.
ONE MOORE TO 100
LA Kings forward Trevor Moore registered his fourth multi-point game of his career Saturday night versus Florida (1-1=2), putting him one point shy of 100 career NHL points. In 218 career games, the Thousand Oaks, Calif. native has tallied 37 goals, 62 assists, 99 points, plus-13 rating, seven power-play points and seven shorthanded goals. With one more point, Moore can become the 24th active undrafted player in the NHL to reach 100 points. Since his NHL debut on Dec. 23, 2018, Moore’s seven shorthanded goals rank fifth in the league:
Most SHG in league since Dec. 23, 2018
Player GP SHG
Sebastian Aho (CAR) 263 11
Brad Marchand (BOS) 240 10
Cam Atkinson (PHI) 219 9
Reilly Smith (VGK) 229 8
Trevor Moore (LAK) 218 7
THROWING THE BLOCK
The LA Kings haven’t been afraid to sacrifice the body as of late, including getting in front of shots. LA’s 209 blocked shots so far this season sit fourth in the league behind Vegas (268), Philadelphia (221) and NY Islanders (217):
Most blocked shots by team
Player GP Blocks
Vegas Golden Knights 13 268
Philadelphia Flyers 11 221
NY Islanders 14 217
LA Kings 14 209
Washington Capitals 14 28
While Matt Roy’s 29 blocks leads the team and is tied for 11th in the league, LA’s forward core have been quite active in blocking shots with 15 different forwards registering at least one block, the most among any forward core in the league. Anze Kopitar’s 18 blocked shots lead the league among all forwards while Phillip Danault’s 13 is tied for seventh:
Most blocked shots among NHL forwards
Player GP Blocks
Anze Kopitar (LAK) 14 18
Noah Cates (PHI) 11 17
Michael Rasmussen (DET) 10 17
Elias Pettersson (VAN) 12 16
Luke Kunin (SJS) 14 16
Boone Jenner (CBJ) 12 16
MULTI-POINT MANIA
The LA Kings have had contributions on the scoring sheet from 21 different skaters. Of the 21, 11 of them have had multi-point games with the most courtesy of Gabriel Vilardi (5). Since last Oct. 29, six different skaters have found the score sheet more than once in a game (Fiala, 0-3=3, Oct. 31; Grundstrom, 2-0=2, Oct. 31; Vilardi, 1-1=2, Oct. 31; Kopitar, 0-2=2, Nov. 5; Arvidsson, 1-1=2, Nov. 5; Moore, 1-1=2, Nov. 5). LA has had 27 multi-point performances from their players this season, ranking third-most in the league:
Most multi-point games from players
Team # of multi-point performances
Tampa Bay Lightning 30
Buffalo Sabres 28
LA Kings 27
Edmonton Oilers 26
Colorado Avalanche 25
Boston Bruins 25
