FINAL – Kings 1, Wild 0 – Quick, Roy, McLellan

The LA Kings made it two straight here on their current four-game homestand with a 1-0 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday evening at Crypto.com Arena.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick recorded the 57th shutout of his NHL career tonight as stopped all 21 shots he faced in the victory. Forward Gabe Vilardi scored the lone goal of the game, late in the third period, for his second consecutive game-winning goal and his tenth goal overall this season.

After the teams skated through a pair of scoreless periods, Vilardi finally broke the deadlock 53:47 into the game. Stationed below the goal line, forward Anze Kopitar fed Vilardi between the hashmarks, where he made no mistake in finishing first time past Minnesota netminder Marc-Andre Fleury for the go-ahead goal. Kopitar and defensseman Drew Doughty tallied assists on the play, Kopitar’s 11th of the season, which ties him for the team lead.

Neither team scored down the stretch, with the Kings holding out for the one-goal victory. The Kings allowed six goals against Minnesota this season and won, and scored one goal against Minnesota and won. That’s hockey, folks.

Hear from Quick, defenseman Matt Roy and Head Coach Todd McLellan following tonight’s win.

Matt Roy

Jonathan Quick
On what he felt the team did well tonight on the defensive side of the puck
We did all the little things right. I think we only took one penalty tonight, especially when you’re playing against a team that’s as good on the power play as they are, so trying to limit the chances there. Then it’s block shots, clear rebounds and limiting their chances. I think that goes a long way.

On seeing more and more consistency in recent weeks
Yeah, I mean, consistency I think that’s the word you used, I think finding that, there are 32 teams trying to be more consistent and we’re one of them. The more consistent you are, the more predictable you are to your teammates, the better chance you have to win.

On improving defensive play and finding ways to win
There’s ways to win hockey games, you need to play really well defensively to win hockey games. It’s a tough league when you’re trying to outscore teams. I know, we know we have it in us in that locker room to play that way. Obviously it starts with goaltending, you need to make saves when the team needs it.

Todd McLellan
On the concept of simplifying in a game like tonight
5-on-5, I thought we did a really good job of a lot of things. It was one of those nights where if the power play was sharp, we could have been up 3-0, could have been 1-0 them, two minutes into the third period they were on the powerplay with fresh ice and a chance to regroup. The adjustment between the second and third mentally was really important for our team. Obviously, it didn’t go well on the powerplay, we were all a little bit frustrated and when the break came, we reloaded. For the last three weeks we’ve talked about can we win a game 2-1 or 1-0 and we find a way to do it. I think that break between second and third help so simplification in that form I think was important.

On seeing things from yesterday’s practice show up in today’s game
Actually, a fair amount. There were things that we had to prepare for Minnesota. Less special teams, penalty kill wasn’t bad, but the power play didn’t do its job, that was the disappointing thing in the game tonight. When your power play is not there and you can still win the game that was a real positive, but we did work on some things in practice yesterday that we haven’t had any time to and you can see some of the results here tonight.

On seeing games go in extremes, one way or the other, as of late
When you improve as a team, you look for perfection. We do it, you guys are looking for it. That type of question, we want the 5-0 win every night and it’s not there. There are a lot of 4-4 games, 5-4 games, with lots of offense, not so much defense. Tonight, there wasn’t a lot of offense either way, but one team found a way to get a goal. As you get better as a team, you’re looking for perfection on both ends, it doesn’t exist, and we still have a long way to go to really get to that point.

On how Gabe Vilardi has fit onto the line with Kopitar and Kempe
Well, he’s scoring, he’s responsible defensively, he’s a big body that keeps plays alive, so to this point, he’s fit in really well. Adrian, who naturally scores or has in the past has gone a little bit dry lately, so it’s nice to see somebody on the other side put one or two in. We do have some balance in our lines right now. I think it’s reflective in our record a little bit over the last five or six games. If we can keep everybody important and everybody balanced, I keep using that word, we’ll be better team for it.

Notes –
– Goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped all 22 shots faced for his 57th career shutout, tying Clint Benedict (57) for 22nd all-time in NHL history. Quick has now recorded at least one shutout in each of 15 full NHL seasons.
– Quick’s shutout also marked his fifth win of the season and the 17th of his career against the Wild, the most among active goaltenders.
– Forward Gabe Vilardi scored his tenth goal of the season, tying his career-high previously set in the 2020-21 season through 54 games. Vilardi currently ranks third in the NHL in goals this season. It also marked his third game-winning goal of the year and his second in as many games.
– Per NHL PR, only three Kings players in the past 30 years have required fewer games than Vilardi (15 GP) to reach 10 goals in a single season: Michael Cammalleri (10 GP in 2007-08), Anze Kopitar (12 GP in 2009-10) and Luc Robitaille (12 GP in 1999-00 & 13 GP in 1992-93).
– Anze Kopitar collected his 13th point on the year (2-11-13) with his assist on Vilardi’s third period goal. Kopitar is tied with Kevin Fiala for the team lead in assists on the season.
– Drew Doughty tallied his 34th career point (7-27-34) against the Wild with his assist on Vilardi’s goal, the most all-time among NHL defensemen against Minnesota. Doughty has a point in six consecutive games versus the Wild.
– The Kings went 0-for-4 on the power play this evening, including one on a five-minute match penalty assessed to Kirill Kaprizov late in the second period.

The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow morning at 11 Am at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo.