What we learned from the Kings’ 2-1 overtime victory over Minnesota

What we learned from the Kings’ 2-1 overtime victory over the Minnesota Wild on Friday:

1) Three-on-three overtime is going to be a blast for fans to watch. And players seem to love it, too. It’s pond hockey played with world-class skill, breathless and risky and an edge-of-your-seat spectacle. It still looks odd to see so much open ice, but it’s certainly better to settle games on the ice than with a shootout. Even Kings Coach Darryl Sutter likes it better than the previous four-on-four format. “I’ve said that there’s going to be more decisions made in three-on-three than there would be four-on-four,” he said. “You’ve got to cash in your opportunities.” Said forward Jeff Carter: “It’s back and forth and it’s a lot of fun.

2) Winger Milan Lucic, who earned his first point as a King with an assist on Tyler Toffoli’s power-play goal, seemed to fit better with Toffoli and Carter than he did with his first linemates, Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik. Not everything was in synch but the trio looked better Friday.

“Game by game, I’m just trying to get better and contribute more and get more comfortable as much as I can,” he said. “It’s tough starting on a new team when things aren’t natural to you, but the positive is it’s getting better as we’re playing more games. I’ve just got to stay on top of myself and keep getting better .… I thought our line, as a threesome, we played pretty well.”

3) Goals likely will still be tough to come by for the Kings, who needed 37 shots to get two goals on Minnesota backup goaltender Darcy Kuemper. But they were more active in the offensive zone on Friday than they were in their first three games, and they were around the net more. In addition to their 37 shots on goal, they took 14 shots that were blocked and 23 others that missed the net. The Wild is a good defensive team that made the Kings work hard for this one, and the Kings didn’t shy away from that challenge.

4) Minnesota-born defenseman Derek Forbort, who played in place of the injured Matt Greene, acquitted himself well in 11 minutes and 33 seconds’ ice time. “He settled in,” Sutter said. “He made some good decisions with the puck. I think he has to play a more assertive, aggressive game and understand the strength of the players he’s playing against.”

Twitter: @helenenothelen