#mnwild tops the #lakings 4-1 at @XcelEnergyCtr! @thelnino22 scored twice as did the #CapFinn! #LAKvsMIN pic.twitter.com/fjqGy9wD4Z
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 29, 2015
Nino Niederreiter and Mikko Koivu each scored two goals, and goalie Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-1 win over the LA Kings Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center.
With the win, Minnesota has moved ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks into third place in the Central Division, NHL.com reports.
Excuse us Chicago, we're going to pass on your left. Thanks! @BMileskiKFAN @PAOnTheMic #BecauseWeNEEDTheCup #mnwild pic.twitter.com/HLCZwkA6JF
— Ben Taylor (@ben8taylor) March 29, 2015
The Wild got on the board early, scoring twice in the first period for a 2-0 lead.
Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was pulled after the first period after giving up two goals on seven shots.
Martin Jones made nine saves on 10 shots the rest of the way for the Kings, who outshot Minnesota 17-5 in the second period but could only score once.
Two hands up for that @thelnino22 goal! 🙋 🙋 pic.twitter.com/sMa6dTgtnK
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 29, 2015
In the third, Niederreiter scored during a power play on a pass by defenseman Jared Spurgeon with 3:03 remaining. Koivu then put in an empty netter to give Minnesota the 4-1 victory.
The Wild are 24-5-1 since the All-Star break, and they have an eight-point lead over ninth-place Calgary with six games left in the regular season.
The Blackhawks fell into the top wildcard spot, but they’ve played two fewer games than Minnesota, according to the Star Tribune.
The Wild are off until Thursday when they host the Rangers.
The Kings had won their last three in a row. They’re in third place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Calgary Flames.
