Preview: The Wild is 3-0-1 in its past four against the Kings, outscoring them 14-4. At home, the Wild is 5-1-1 in its past seven since March 31, 2012, vs. the Kings. Winless Los Angeles has scored three goals in two games.
Wild-Los Angeles game preview
October 18, 2016 at 4:40AM
Players to watch: Wild C Mikko Koivu has 30 points in 33 games against the Kings. G Devan Dubnyk is 6-4-1 against L.A. with a 2.15 goals-against average and .936 save percentage. F Devin Setoguchi, who scored 32 goals and 63 points in 117 games for the Wild from 2011-13, made the Kings after a tryout. He is attempting a comeback after openly talking about his abuse of alcohol over a number of years. Center Anze Kopitar has 27 points in 36 games vs. the Wild. Defenseman Drew Doughty won the Norris Trophy last season.
Numbers: The Wild rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win its home opener. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 10 of 32 total games entering Monday (31.3 percent) have seen a team overcome a multi-goal deficit to earn at least one point. The trailing team eventually won eight of those 10 contests. In 2015-16, teams overcame a multi-goal deficit to earn at least a point in 150 of 1,230 total games (12.2 percent), including 93 victories.
Injuries: Kings G Jonathan Quick (lower body) and RW Marian Gaborik (foot) are out.
Note: Rookie Joel Eriksson Ek's work visa has been approved, but after not practicing in a week, he'll spend some time in Iowa and may even make his AHL debut Tuesday before being called up to play in Minnesota. D Mike Reilly was assigned to Iowa.
MICHAEL RUSSO
about the writer
The defenseman scored his first goal for Minnesota against Nashville and is sticking to his plan to “go day by day.”
