St. Paul, MN – Mikko Koivu scored the deciding goal and Matt Cullen won it in the shootout, lifting Minnesota to a 4-3 win over Los Angeles at Xcel Energy Center.
Zach Parise scored to open the shootout, then Koivu capped the hosts' second chance by beating Jonathan Quick with a high backhander, and though Mike Richards converted his shot, Cullen rippled the net to end the game in Minnesota's favor.
Cullen, Parise and Charlie Coyle lit the lamp while Niklas Backstrom made 28 saves in regulation for the Wild, who rebounded from a two-goal deficit to win for the eighth time in their last nine.
"All I can say is this shows a huge amount of character from our team," said Wild coach Mike Yeo. "Just a great job by our guys."
Dustin Brown, Justin Williams and Jeff Carter tallied for the Kings, who have lost three of five. Quick stopped 25 shots but failed to make one save in the game's final segment.
Brown's power-play strike gave the visitors the lead just shy of the eight- minute mark in the first period, but Cullen finished off a Devin Setoguchi pass to tie the game at 13:19.
Carter's tally on the advantage gave LA a 2-1 edge with 3:44 played in the second period and Williams put one past Backstrom for a two-goal edge at 11:24.
Coyle's strike at 13:53 of the second pulled the hosts within one, and Parise evened things with 8:06 played in the third on a power play.
Game Notes
Backstrom, who improved to 19-7-2 this season, won his eighth consecutive start ... Koivu registered two assists for Minnesota ... Los Angeles fell to 2-0-1 on its five-game road trip, which continues on Sunday evening in Dallas.
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