Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scor

Final Score: Los Angeles 2 - Minnesota 3

St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Martin Havlat scored the game-winning goal near the midway point of the third period, as the Minnesota Wild edged the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2, at the Xcel Energy Center.

Owen Nolan and Brent Burns also scored for the Wild, who bounced back from a 6-2 defeat to the Red Wings on Friday and now are just nine points behind idle Colorado for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Niklas Backstrom made 29 saves for the victors.

"Obviously, these games don't mean much for us right now," Wild defenseman Greg Zanon said. "It's definitely a confidence builder. We're almost playing for next year, trying to find a good identity to start the year off."

Scott Parse scored twice for the Kings, who have dropped four straight and remained one point behind idle Detroit for the sixth spot in the West. Jonathan Quick turned aside 17-of-20 shots in defeat.

"I thought we played a decent game tonight," Kings forward Wayne Simmonds said. "We can't panic. We got to stay composed and believe in ourselves."

Trailing 2-1 in the third, Parse scored his second goal of the contest at the 1:25 mark to tie things up. Following a battle for the disc along the right boards, Brad Richardson slid a pass to the top of the right circle for Parse, whose one-timer found the back of the net.

Havlat put Minnesota ahead 3-2 on a power-play goal at the 7:38 mark. Havlat's slapper from the left point proved to be too much for Quick to handle.

Los Angeles pulled Quick late in the frame for an extra attacker, but Backstrom held strong in net to preserve the victory for the Wild.

After a scoreless first period, Nolan scored a power-play goal at the 1:19 mark of the second to put the Wild on the board. A shot from the point left a rebound in front for Nolan, who put a backhander through the legs of Quick.

Burns gave Minnesota a 2-0 edge at the 7:26 mark. Burns made a nifty move at the left point to get around a defender. He then made his way to the slot before scoring on a wrist shot.

The Kings lit the lamp with 7:13 left in the middle stanza to cut the gap to 2-1. Parse blasted a slapper from the point that beat traffic in front and got past Backstrom.