Erik Haula and Jason Pominville scored for Minnesota and assisted on the other’s first-period goal, fueling the Wild for a 6-3 victory over Los Angeles that triggered an early exit for Kings goalie Jeff Zatkoff on Tuesday night.
After Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu and Teemu Pulkkinen tacked on scores for the Wild, Kings coach Darryl Sutter pulled Zatkoff for Peter Budaj during the second intermission. Zatkoff stopped 11 shots, taking his third straight loss since replacing star Jonathan Quick just 20 minutes into the season opener last week.
Tanner Pearson had two goals, both assisted by Jeff Carter, and Anze Kopitar also scored in the third period for the Kings, but Jared Spurgeon’s end-to-end empty-net fling from the far corner put the bow on a banner night for the Wild.
