Maybe it was Marcus Foligno's fight after the opening faceoff.
The new forward lines might have done the trick, too.
Or perhaps the Wild was just fed up after dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Either way, the team stirred from its recent snoozefest to debut its best start thus far and then weathered a wave of adversity en route to a 5-3 win over the Kings Thursday at Xcel Energy Center that earned back the two points it lost in the first game of the series.
The Wild (5-3) scored three goals in the first, the most for any period this season, but the victory was secured in the second when the Wild flirted with blowing its early edge.
After consecutive penalties at the beginning of the second, the Wild's manpower took a permanent hit when Kevin Fiala was ejected. He crunched Los Angeles' Matt Roy from behind into the boards, receiving a five-minute boarding major and game misconduct – a sequence that could merit further discipline by the NHL.
On the ensuing five-minute power play, Drew Doughty's shot rolled five-hole on goalie Kaapo Kahkonen at 9 minutes, 7 seconds to move the Kings within a goal of the Wild at 3-2. Los Angeles' first goal also came on the power play, a deflection by Dustin Brown at 3:19 of the second. Overall, Los Angeles went 2-for-7 while the Went was 0-for-4.
The parade to the penalty box by the Wild continued, with Nick Bjugstad getting called for a faceoff violation infraction. But unlike the previous times the team was shorthanded, the Wild survived the pressure.
And once the team was back to 5-on-5 play, Bjugstad provided a much-needed insurance goal with 1:22 to go in the second – this after Kahkonen made a key save on Blake Lizotte to keep the Wild's slim lead intact. He racked up a season-high 32 saves, while Jonathan Quick had 23 for the Kings.
The first period wasn't as up-and-down, with the Wild in control, and Foligno might have set the tone when he dropped the gloves with Kurtis MacDermid after the puck dropped – an assertive start after the Wild sagged 2-1 to the Kings on Tuesday.
While both players were in the penalty box, the Wild's offense sprung to life.
After botching a 4-on-1 rush by dishing off a pass into captain Jared Spurgeon's mistake, Marcus Johansson atoned for the gaffe – throwing a puck on net from the point that eluded Quick at 3:33.
Fiala doubled the score at 8:17, capitalizing on a breakaway that started when he blocked a shot in the Wild's end while Kahkonen was scrambling back into his crease after getting taken out by a couple players.
The goal was Fiala's third in his last four games.
And then at 12:55, rookie Kirill Kaprizov finished off a smooth pass from Johansson for his second goal of the season and first since his overtime winner in Game 1 vs. the Kings. Ian Cole registered the second assist on the play for his first point since joining the Wild in a trade from Colorado.
This surge by the offense came amid a reshuffled lineup, with center Joel Eriksson Ek's promotion to the Johansson-Kaprizov tandem one of the most notable changes.
And Eriksson Ek continued his impressive play in this spot, putting back his own rebound 4:44 into the third for his team-leading fifth goal. He and Kaprizov are tied for the team lead in points with 7.
By this point, the Kings weren't just missing Roy, who was down on the ice for a while before being helped off after taking the hit from Fiala. Fellow defenseman Sean Walker also was hurt, taking a Matt Dumba shot to the face early in the third – leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
Still, Los Angeles continued to press and Alex Iafallo finalized a 5-3 outcome on a one-timer 9:41 into the third.
