Punchless Kings are shut out by the Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Niklas Backstrom’s first shutout since October and Marian Gaborik’s 200th NHL goal helped the Minnesota Wild end a five-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Kings on Saturday night.

Backstrom made 24 saves for his first shutout since Oct. 10 against Edmonton, and Brian Rolston also scored for the Wild, which moved ahead of Colorado for first place in the Northwest Division.

“If we want to make the playoffs, that’s the way it has to be,” Backstrom said. “I have to be there and make the saves when the team needs that and help them so they don’t have to score four or five goals every night.”

Gaborik snapped a wrist shot over Erik Ersberg’s glove for a 2-0 lead, then received a standing ovation from the crowd when his milestone was announced.

“Especially to score it in a winning game when we haven’t won in a while,” Gaborik said. “This is a huge two points for us. It’s nice to get that goal in a two-point game. It’s huge.”

Ersberg made 27 saves for the Kings, who failed to convert on five power plays.

“You get five power-play chances,” Coach Marc Crawford said, “and you’ve got to connect on one of those five… . So this is one where our power play has to take some ownership of our performance.”

The Kings have an NHL-low 62 points. They’re hoping to build around a talented young core of Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Patrick O’Sullivan, obtained from the Wild in a trade for Pavol Demitra two years ago, to get back to respectability.

Despite their poor standing in the West, the Kings haven’t gone quietly. They beat Nashville, 4-1, on Thursday night to make the Predators’ climb into the playoff race a little more difficult, and played Minnesota tough for most of the Saturday night.

“We look at it almost like playoff games for us, trying to spoil something for these teams that are fighting for a playoff spot,” Ersberg said.

But they missed too many opportunities on Saturday, including an open net off a rebound by Derek Armstrong and two power plays in the final 6:16.

“Our team is trying to battle as if we’re in a race and as if we’re in the situation Minnesota is in,” O’Sullivan said. “We played a really good team, and they’re obviously playing important games. I thought we matched their effort.”