Minnesota Wild vs. Los Angeles Kings: Game Recap

For the enemy perspective, please visit Jewels From The Crown

I picked a heck of a game to break my recap-less streak, which lasted a little over a year.

Tonight, we got our first look at Jason Pominville in a Wild sweater, completing a scary 1st line with Koivu and Parise. That line was dangerous all night long. In fact, it's pretty surprising that they didn't get on the board. They were far from perfect though, as Koivu and Parise are getting used to a new linemate and Pominville to a new team, but I liked what I saw. Unfortunately, Pominville was one of the only traded players that was held pointless in his first game with his new team and is therefore a bust. Oh well, better luck next time. (Before you comment on this, be sure to turn your sarcasm detector on and save yourself some embarassment)

Some numbuhhhhs.

- Jonathan Bernier had his 6th career shutout tonight, his third against Minnesota. I'll go out on a limb here and say he likes playing the Wild.

- From @mnwildpr:

and

HW's 3 stars:

#1 Jason Williams (2 goals)

#2 Jonathan Bernier (23 save shutout)

5 questions:
1. Will Pominville have an instant impact on the top line tonight? No points, so he's a bust. Seriously though, got some good chances, a few puck steals, but had a few passes that went absolutely nowhere. Just a matter of getting used to playing with two new linemates in a new system. He'll come around. Liked what I saw.

2. Can the Wild put last night's mess behind them and get a win on the road? Could you repeat the question, please? *Runs away*

3. Will Ryan Suter remember how to play defense tonight? Haven't seen last night's game, yet I can still say he played infinitely better in his own end. Haven't seen much offensively though.

4. Can we score first for once? To score first, you have to actually score, first.

5. Can the Wild shut down Anze Kopitar? (23 pts in last 22 games, 6-17-23) Make that 6-18-24 now. Kuemper had a nice save on his breakaway in the first period though.