Wild vs Kings: Post game wrap up

The game got off to a great start. 64 seconds in, it looked like Kyle Brodziak had scored the first goal of the game. Then the goal was reviewed, and it looked like Matt Cooke may have kicked it in.

Looking back at the replays, it was pretty clear that the puck was deflected in by Cooke's skate. So, Cooke gets his first goal in a Wild sweater, and first goal of the Wild season, with Brodziak and Mikael Granlund snagging the assists.

About 6 minutes in, Zenon Konopka took a 2 minute delay of game penalty that turned into a PPG for the Kings by Drew Doughty. It appeared that Dany Heatley had given the Wild another goal, but the officials made an intent to blow call instead.

Kings were really trying to board the Wild tonight, with Colin Fraser taking out Keith Ballard, and Kyle Clifford trying to take out Jonas Brodin.

Brodin didn't let it phase him, and decided to score the first Minnesota Power Play Goal of the season. No mis-print there. Power. Play. Goal. Way to make them pay for it Brodin.

The second period started with Charlie Coyle showing the world why Wild fans are still in love with THE SHIFT. Just utter beast mode for the kid all night.

Konopka and Clifford dropped the gloves shortly into the 2^nd, potentially some payback for Clifford's board on Brodin.

Scandella had another rough night, with lots of panicked passes that turned into turnovers. Sometimes they were only near turnovers though, so progress? He really picked up and starting playing his game in the third though,

With just over 6 minutes left in the game, the Kings tied it with a goal by Jeff Carter. The Wild were having a serious issue clearing the zone, and the Kings took advantage of it.

Despite throwing everything they had at the Kings towards the end of the third, the Wild couldn't get the go ahead goal. In what is hopefully not a sign of the season, the first game of the season went to overtime.

The Wild would go on to lose in a shoot out, bringing up lots of questions about Niklas Backstrom's goaltending capabilities. While the shootout falls on him, the loss falls on the whole team.

Players and Coach Yeo echo'd the same sentiment throughout post game interviews. The team played well, but they need to make more of their opportunities. If they play each game the same way they played tonight, they will win a lot of hockey games.

Ballard was also sporting some serious face trauma in his post game interview. Between the boarding and the fight afterwords, he managed to get three separate tracks of stitches on his face, as well as a still bleeding lip.

Hope is not lost Wild fans. The Wild have made tons of great strides, and over-powered a very tough and skilled team in almost every way. Next game is Saturday, and the Wild will be ready to fight till the end again.

Here are tonight's #fancystats for those of you interestedhttp://www.extraskater.com/game/2013-10-03-kings-wild

And the rest of the stats for tonight.