Pearson Scores in OT To Lift Kings Past Wild
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tanner Pearson tipped home Alec Martinez's pass for his 11th goal at 3:32 of overtime, sending the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Zach Parise scored the tying power-play goal with 42.1 seconds left in regulation for the Wild, but Pearson ended it with a slick deflection in front of Darcy Kuemper for his fourth goal in six games.
Jeff Carter had a goal and two assists in the 12th multipoint game of his monster season for the Kings. They improved to 8-1 in games decided in 3-on-3 overtime play.
Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle scored first-period goals and Kuemper stopped 32 shots for the Wild. They have lost two of three after their 12-game winning streak.
Jake Muzzin scored the tiebreaking power-play goal early in the third period for the Kings, but Parise evened it with Kuemper pulled for 6-on-4 play in the final minute after Drew Doughty was sent off for tripping.
Marian Gaborik also scored and Peter Budaj made 21 saves for the Kings, who rallied from an early two-goal deficit. Carter scored his 22nd goal in the second period and set up the Kings' next two goals, giving him 12 points in Los Angeles' last nine games.
The Kings went ahead when Muzzin snapped his 18-game goal drought since Nov. 23 with the go-ahead goal.
Los Angeles bounced back from a 4-0 trouncing by Detroit on Thursday in the opener of a seven-game homestand heading toward the NHL All-Star weekend at Staples Center this month.
Koivu got the Wild started just 3:12 in, pouncing on a neutral-zone turnover and putting an unassisted goal past Budaj, who probably could have stopped it. Coyle added to the lead four minutes later with his 13th goal, extending his torrid early-season scoring pace.
Carter trimmed the lead in the second period with a slick wrist shot for his eighth goal in nine games. Carter has spent all season carrying the Kings' struggling offense, which has received just three goals in 35 games from captain Anze Kopitar.
Gaborik, the longtime Wild forward, tied it moments later with just his second goal in 18 games. Gaborik's backhand deflected high off Kuemper's stick, hit Wild defenseman Ryan Suter in the head and went in.
NOTES: Dustin Brown appeared in his 922nd game for the Kings, surpassing Marcel Dionne for third place in team history. The Stanley Cup-winning captain has spent his entire 13-year career in Los Angeles. ... Doughty got his 251st career assist on Gaborik's goal, surpassing Mark Hardy for second place in franchise history among defensemen. The Norris Trophy winner only turned 27 years old last month. ... The Kings honored former forward Tomas Sandstrom before the game. The Swede spent parts of five seasons with Los Angeles and played on the 1992-93 Western Conference champion team.
UP NEXT
Wild: At Ducks on Sunday for coach Bruce Boudreau's homecoming.
Kings: Host Stars on Monday.
