LA Kings vs. Wild: Twitter breakdown, three stars, quotes in 3-1 loss

The LA Kings saw their six-game win streak come to an end on Friday night, losing 3-1 to the Minnesota Wild, who have now won five straight.

All good things must come to an end, right? The LA Kings came out flat against the Minnesota Wild on Friday night, falling 3-1 in what should have been a lopsided score if not for some key saves from Jonathan Quick.

These two teams have played each other six times in the 2021 season. In the early goings of this game, each team registered just one shot through the first five minutes, as either team looked to see which might blink first.

Once the Wild scored, though, it opened up the flood gates, as Minnesota scored three goals in just over three minutes’ time.

Three stars

3 stars

Cam Talbot: Stopped 23-of-24 shots

2 stars

Kirill Kaprizov: have to give credit where credit is due. His wraparound goal was a great individual effort

1 star

Jeff Carter: ended the shutout bid with his fourth goal of the year.

Postgame quotes

Kopitar on how the Wild were able to take over the game

Yeah, I mean, it was a lot of stuff that didn’t go the way we wanted it to go. And it’s all on us. I mean, we didn’t make any plays. Our passing was not very good. And then, you know, just battles for the puck, they won them, and they played in our zone the whole time and scored the goals.

McLellan on adjustments needed with these two teams playing again Saturday night

Well, I guess it’s important on how I expect them to show up. It’s even more important how they expect each other to show up. And let’s face it, we’re not going to hockey school tonight. We’re not doing anything miraculous that’s going to make us a better team in the next 15 or 16 hours. We know what’s ahead of us, and we just have to play a better game. We have to execute when we get the opportunities and just play a better game than we did tonight. And we’ll try and help them video-wise and give them a few pointers if we can, but not much is going to change between now and then.

McLellan on Kaprizov

If he isn’t the top rookie in the league, he’s going to be one of the top two or three. This is what, game six or seven against them already. And every night, he’s got better. I think he’s a factor. I think his line is very good right now. They complement each other. And you know, for me, I just see him along the boards and in piles. He’s not the biggest man, but he always seems to roll off and come out, and he’s a very slippery player.

LA Kings Schedule

As noted, these two teams will meet again with puck drop set for 5 pm PT.