wild gameday
9:30 P.M. at Los ANgeles • staples center • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Wild continues its three-game road trip against a team in beat in a shootout, 4-3, last weekend. In that game, the Wild rallied from a 3-1 deficit. The Kings are coming off a 3-1 loss at Phoenix on Tuesday.
Players to watch: New Wild RW Jason Pominville wearing No. 29 on the right wing of C Mikko Koivu and LW Zach Parise. He has scored 10 goals and 25 points in 37 games for Buffalo this season. Koivu has scored 22 points in 23 games against the Kings. G Niklas Backstrom might get the night off for Darcy Kuemper. Kings C Anze Kopitar has scored 23 points in 25 games against the Wild, while C Jarret Stoll has 20 points in 41 games. C Jeff Carter leads the Western Conference with 20 goals.
Numbers: The Kings are the eighth-best offensive team in the NHL (2.86 goals per game) and 10th-best defensive team (2.47). … The Wild is 4-2 in the second of back-to-backs this season. … The Wild is 20-15-10 all-time vs. the Kings.
Injuries: Wild C Matt Cullen (lower body) and G Josh Harding (symptoms related to multiple sclerosis) are out. Kings D Willie Mitchell (knee), D Matt Greene (back) and LW Dustin Penner (lower body) are out.
MICHAEL RUSSO
