Anze Kopitar surpasses 1,200 career points as Kings rout Wild

Field Level Media|published: Thu 21st March, 01:21 2024

Mar 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings goaltender David Rittich (31) blocks a shot against Minnesota Wild center Mason Shaw (15) during the first period at Crypto.com Arena. credits: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Anze Kopitar collected one goal and one assist to surpass 1,200 points in his career and goaltender David Rittich posted his career-high third shutout of the season as the host Los Angeles Kings claimed a 6-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.

Phillip Danault, Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson each also netted one goal and one assist while Matt Roy and Jordan Spence added one goal apiece for the Kings (36-22-11, 83 points), who strengthened their hold on third place in the Pacific Division. Rittich made 30 saves to record his seventh career shutout. Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty each collected two assists.

Wild starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled after surrendering five goals on 16 shots. Filip Gustavsson stopped 10 of 11 shots in relief for the Wild (34-28-8, 76 points), who were without top-pairing defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body) and lost in regulation time for the first time in nine outings.

Danault opened the scoring on his team's first shot. After a turnover, Trevor Moore sent a shot on net that Danault redirected for his 17th goal of the season at the 5:08 mark.

Fiala's power-play goal at 15:03 of the period doubled the lead. While his team buzzed around the offensive zone, Fiala stepped down from the point and ripped a shot from the slot for his 23rd of the campaign.

Arvidsson, who returned after missing 14 games due to a lower-body injury, extended the lead to 3-0 just 83 seconds later when his pass attempt ricocheted off a sprawling defender and into the cage for his first of the season.

The rout continued with Roy's tally 28 seconds into the second period. Quinton Byfield's pass banked off a defenseman's skate right to Roy in the slot and he made no mistake to net his fourth of the season.

Spence added another power-play goal at 7:34 of the middle frame, converting a long shot for his second of the season, which spelled the end of the game for Fleury. Kopitar capped the second period at 17:15 by blasting a one-timer from the right faceoff dot for his 23rd of the season.

The third period featured a handful of scrums, for which both sides had a half-dozen players handed 10-minute misconducts.

—Field Level Media

Latest