ST. PAUL, Minn. — These weren't the same Kings from the last go-around.
And neither were the Wild.
In a role reversal from their season-opening series almost two weeks ago in Los Angeles, the Kings skated with authority this time — muscling their way to a 2-1 win Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center that dealt the Wild their second straight loss and dropped the team to 4-3 overall.
Carl Grundstrom put Los Angeles ahead for good 5 minutes, 8 seconds into third period after center Joel Eriksson Ek scored his team-leading fourth goal just 1:09 into the third to knot the score at 1 and spoil goalie Calvin Petersen's shutout bid. Petersen totaled 32 saves.
Since losing in overtime by identical 4-3 scores in the first two games of the season after the Wild assembled third-period comebacks, the Kings have been up and down like the Wild. But they looked like a much more cohesive unit Tuesday than they did in the previous matchup.
They arrived in St. Paul with one of the NHL's leading scorers in Anze Kopitar (10 points) and having just tagged St. Louis for six goals in another victory on Sunday. And they skated with poise in the offensive zone, getting pucks to the net and pressuring the Wild into cringy turnovers in its own zone.
Had it not been for goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, Los Angeles might have built a multi-goal lead after one period. Kahkonen, who continued to handle starting duties while No.1 Cam Talbot remains out with a lower-body injury, made 12 first-period saves — including eight on the power play. Six of those came during a four-minute high-sticking penalty to defenseman Carson Soucy.
In the end, the Kings went 0 for 3 on the power play. Kahkonen ended up with 19 saves.
At the end of the first, the Kings were outshooting the Wild 12-6 and that lopsided feel finally came to fruition 4:02 into the second period.
Kurtis MacDermid was left all alone at the back post to roof a puck over Kahkonen, his first goal of the season. Defenseman Matt Dumba appeared to motion for center Victor Rask to cover MacDermid, but Rask never got there in time.
The goal was only the second one given up by the Wild to open a game, but the deficit seemed larger.
Like they usually have, the Wild intensified their effort after falling behind — with a one-timer from center Nick Bjugstad that forced Petersen to quickly slide across to keep the puck out one of the team's better chances all night. The Wild also had their first power play in the second but didn't even register a shot on goal.
This offensive slowdown came amid a revamped look for the top six.
Rookie Kirill Kaprizov joined veterans Nick Bonino and Marcus Johansson, while Kevin Fiala worked with Zach Parise and Bjugstad. The Wild used these lines late in the game Sunday when the team clawed back from a two-goal hole to tie the Sharks before getting upended 5-3.
But the combinations didn't click against the Kings, who snuffed out another Wild power play that spanned the end of the second and beginning of the third. Petersen was especially clutch, withstanding a frantic scramble in front and blocking two attempts by Fiala and one from Parise. The Wild finished 0 for 3 with the man advantage and are now 2 for 30 on the season, ranking among the least effective units in the NHL.
Los Angeles also had leads over the Wild in the teams' two past games but in a show of growth, the Kings responded in Round 3 after Eriksson Ek's equalizer — a puck he stuffed in after a wraparound for his sixth point in seven games, the most he's had to start a season.
The Kings challenged the goal to see if Petersen was interfered with, but the goal counted.
After Grundstrom's wrist shot reclaimed the Kings' advantage, the team held on the rest of the way to tie the Wild in the West Division standings with eight points.
The finale of this two-game series is Thursday.
