Cam Talbot made 27 saves to help the Minnesota Wild beat Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Talbot was making his first appearance since Feb. 2, as he spent 2 1/2 weeks on the COVID-19 list before he was cleared last week.
Kirill Kaprizov, Nick Bjugstad and Joel Eriksson Ek scored on three straight shots in the first period for the Wild, who have won five in a row, combining for 23 goals in that streak.
Jeff Carter scored and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for the Kings, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.
The Kings, who allowed just seven goals and posted two shutouts during their winning streak, gave up three goals in a 3:03 span of the first period.
Kaprizov scored the fifth goal of his rookie season and third against the Kings to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 12:33. After Quick made a save on a point shot from Jonas Brodin, Kaprizov’s follow-up shot hit the side of the net. Kaprizov recovered the puck and scored on a wraparound while falling to his knees behind the Los Angeles net.
Quick was unable to control a dump-in by Minnesota that banked off the end boards and came up the side of the net, allowing Bjugstad to skate in and chip the puck high into the net for a 2-0 lead at 14:31.
It was the 100th goal of Bjugstad’s nine-year NHL career.
The Wild made it 3-0 at 15:36. The puck caromed into the slot after a save by Quick, and Eriksson Ek was in position to fire it into the net for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
The Kings played much better in the second and third periods, but were unable to get the puck past Talbot until 2:50 remained in the game. Carter scored on a redirection to spoil Talbot’s shot at the 23rd shutout of his NHL career and his first of the season.
–Field Level Media