National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Los Angeles 3, Minnesota 0
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, April 4, 2013
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees: Chris Lee, Rob Martell
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Andy McElman
Attendance: 18118


Kings 3, Wild 0: Justin Williams scored a pair of goals and Jonathan Bernier made 23 saves as host Los Angeles handed Minnesota its third straight loss.

Jeff Carter also tallied for the Kings, who moved one point ahead of the Wild and idle San Jose Sharks for fourth place in the Western Conference.

Darcy Kuemper made 11 saves in relief for Minnesota as Niklas Backstrom was pulled after allowing goals on the first two shots he faced. The Wild relinquished first place in the Northwest Division to Vancouver, which shut out Edmonton on Thursday.

Bernier turned aside six shots in each of the first two periods and 11 in the third for his sixth career shutout and first this season. The netminder has posted half of his career blankings against Minnesota.

Williams gave Bernier all the support he needed - and extended his goal-scoring streak to five games - just 1:29 into the contest and Carter doubled the lead 98 seconds later as he received a pass from Mike Richards in the right faceoff circle and slipped the puck between Backstrom's pads. Williams capped the scoring at 3:52 of the second by beating Kuemper with a slap shot from the top of the right circle during a partial breakaway.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Wild were without C Matt Cullen (lower body) and RW Dany Heatley, who suffered a wrist injury when he was slashed by San Jose's Marc-Edouard Vlasic in Wednesday's loss. ... D Robyn Regehr recorded an assist in his debut with the Kings. Regehr was acquired from Buffalo on Monday. ... The game was Los Angeles' 44th consecutive home sellout.

Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Los Angeles
N/A Points Justin Williams 2
N/A Goals Justin Williams 2
N/A Assists Drew Doughty 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Darcy Kuemper .917 Save Percentage Jonathan Bernier 1.000
Darcy Kuemper 11 Saves Jonathan Bernier 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 23 0 0-1 2-2 4 25
Los Angeles 14 3 0-2 1-1 2 23
Upcoming Games
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Kings have a W/L % of .550 after a win and .625 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Wild have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .533 after a loss.