Minnesota @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 26, 2019 ) Los Angeles 1, Minnesota 5

The Minnesota Wild will conclude a pronounced road stretch to begin their season on Tuesday night when they visit the Los Angeles Kings. The Wild, who skated to a 5-1 home win over the Kings on Oct. 26, will be playing their 13th road game in 18 outings to start the campaign.

Captain Mikko Koivu moved past Marian Gaborik after scoring his franchise-best 60th power-play goal as Minnesota improved to 2-1-0 on its four-game road trip with a 4-3 win over Arizona on Saturday. The tally was the second of the season for the 36-year-old Finn, who also scored in the Wild's first meeting with Los Angeles to boost his total to 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists) in 43 career encounters with the Kings. Los Angeles surrendered three first-period goals in Saturday's 3-2 setback in Montreal and limps to the Staples Center with three straight losses and seven in its last eight (1-6-1). Captain Anze Kopitar, who scored his team-high fifth goal against the Canadiens, leads the Kings with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 46 career meetings with the Wild.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS North, FS Wisconsin (Minnesota), FS West (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE WILD (6-10-1): Kevin Fiala started Minnesota's comeback from a two-goal deficit on Saturday after cleaning up a rebound from defenseman Brad Hunt's shot and beating former Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper. The goal was his third of a four-game point streak (three goals, two assists) for Fiala, who is now showing signs of the player who erupted for a career-high 23 goals during his last full season with Nashville (2017-18). Eric Staal, who leads the team with six goals, scored in the first encounter with the Kings to boost his point total to 13 (seven goals, six assists) in 23 career meetings.

ABOUT THE KINGS (5-11-1): The newly formed "Kid Line" paid dividends on Saturday as rookie Blake Lizotte celebrated his first career NHL goal after he benefited from nifty hand-eye coordination to clean up a rebound and beat Carey Price in the third period. "It's a lifelong goal, ever since I started playing hockey. It's a pretty special feeling," said the 21-year-old Lizotte, who is a Lindstrom (Minn.) native and played two seasons at St. Cloud State University (2017-19). The young line also featured two additional 1997-born players in Carl Grundstrom and Austin Wagner, who each picked up an assist on Lizotte's goal.

OVERTIME

1. Los Angeles G Jonathan Quick sports a 13-8-5 record with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage in 26 career starts versus Minnesota.

2. The Wild own a 9-1-4 mark in the last 14 games overall against the Kings and have secured at least a point in seven of the last nine at Staples Center (4-2-3).

3. Los Angeles placed C Trevor Lewis on injured reserve with a lower-body ailment.

PREDICTION: Kings 3, Wild 2