Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Kings spent much of the afternoon trapped in their own end while the Minnesota Wild pelted them with 41 shots.
Thanks to Jonathan Quick and two more timely contributions from That 70s Line, the Kings are still perfect on their homestand.
Quick made 40 saves and Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist in the Kings’ fourth straight victory, 2-1 over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
Toffoli scored an early power-play goal and Tanner Pearson added a third-period goal for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who are dominating their six-game homestand despite long stretches of indifferent offensive play.
“I don’t think we’ve had our game for the last little while,” center Jarret Stoll said.
“We’re winning on penalty-killing and goaltending.”
That’s enough when the champions can get incredibly consistent production from That 70s Line -- the jersey-number-inspired nickname for Jeff Carter’s combo with youngsters Toffoli and Pearson. The trio has scored 11 of Los Angeles’ 14 goals this season.
The NHL’s best defensive team last season is back in top form again. Cooke’s goal was just the third by Los Angeles’ opponents in 245 minutes during the homestand, and Quick was stellar in the Kings’ crease after tying Rogie Vachon’s franchise record with his 32nd career shutout Thursday.
“Sometimes on a longer homestand, it gets to be the same thing every day, so we knew we had to get up for these guys,” Quick said. “It’s good to get that level of competition on a homestand.”
Niklas Backstrom stopped 14 shots and Matt Cooke scored with 13:13 to play for the Wild, who lost back-to-back games in Southern California despite largely impressive performances.
Los Angeles held the Wild scoreless on five power plays, extending Minnesota’s season-opening drought to 0 for 16. The Wild repeatedly cycled the puck in the Kings’ end, but Quick was on top of almost everything that came his direction.
Agencies
