Game 17: Kings 5, Wild 2 (FINAL)

If it’s a Saturday night in November, it must be hockey at Staples Center. It’s the Kings and the Minnesota Wild, with all the action on Fox Sports West and on 1150-AM and affiliates, with all the game updates here as well…

THIRD PERIOD
In goal: It’s still Quick vs. Backstrom.
Kings 5, Wild 1: Minnesota got on the scoreboard with a power-play goal 47 seconds into the third period. Mikko Koivu brought the puck to the net and didn’t score, but the puck stayed in the crease. Cal Clutterbuck beat three Kings defenders to the puck and poked it past Quick to make it a 5-1 game. Dany Heatley also got an assist.
Kings 5, Wild 2: The Wild made it a three-goal game with 7:37 remaining, when Darroll Powe, skating through the middle of the ice, reached out and deflected Marek Zidlicky’s point shot past Quick to make it a 5-2 game. Nate Prosser also got an assist.
End of game: The Kings outshot the Wild 36-26.

SECOND PERIOD
In goal: It’s still Quick vs. Harding.
Kings 2, Wild 0: Martinez was back on the ice for the start of the second period, and scored two minutes into the period to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. Martinez pinched down to the right side of the net and, after a goal-front scramble, found a loose puck and knocked it into the net as he fell to the ice. Justin Williams and Simon Gagne got assists.
Kings 3, Wild 0: The Kings took a 3-0 lead 6:49 into the second period. Dustin Brown took a pass from Jack Johnson and carried the puck with speed into the Minnesota zone. Brown fought off a bump from Marek Zidlicky, kept control of the puck and put a shot on net. Harding made the save, but Brown went to the front of the net, got his own rebound and scored from close range.
Kings 4, Wild 0: Moments after Quick made a sprawling save, Simon Gagne scored the Kings’ third goal of the period, with 8:16 remaining, to give the Kings a 4-0 lead. Gagne brought the puck out from behind the net, and his backhand shot beat Harding, five-hole. Anze Kopitar and Williams got assists. That was the last shot Harding faced, as he was replaced by Niklas Backstrom. Harding allowed four goals on 21 shots.
Kings 5, Wild 0: The Kings tied a single-game high with their fifth goal, as Matt Greene got on the score sheet with 5:47 remaining in the second period. Jarret Stoll won an offensive-zone faceoff, and Trent Hunter pushed the puck back to Greene, who wound up for a slap shot. With Kyle Clifford running traffic in front, the shot beat Backstrom to give the Kings a 5-0 lead.
End of period: The Kings outshot the Wild 15-11 in a remarkable second period. The Wild will be on the power play for the first 1:21 of the third period, but even that brought a cheer from the home fans. Simon Gagne took a roughing penalty when he leveled Brad Staubitz, after Staubitz hit Anze Kopitar.

FIRST PERIOD
In goal: It’s  the Kings’ Jonathan Quick against the Wild’s Josh Harding.
Kings 1, Wild 0: The Kings’ fourth line got the game’s first goal, as the Kings took a 1-0 lead 2:49 into the first period. Trevor Lewis held the puck along the side boards, then pushed it behind the net. Ethan Moreau grabbed it, then centered it toward Colin Fraser. Harding appeared to lose sight of the puck just as Fraser poked it into the net from close range, for his first goal with the Kings.
End of period: The Kings outshot the Wild 12-3, and Minnesota didn’t record its first shot on goal until 11-plus minutes into the game. The Kings will be on the power play for the first 2:38 of the second period, because of Warren Peters’ five-minute boarding penalty. Peters drove Alec Martinez shoulder-first into the glass, and Martinez went to the locker room with the team trainer.