When Zach Parise took a tripping penalty in the second period on Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center, it looked like only a matter of time before the Los Angeles Kings would tie the game.

The penalty came with the Wild already on the penalty kill, and forced them into 49 seconds of a two-man disadvantage against a usually daunting Kings power play.

“You almost expect to score on that,” Jared Spurgeon said.

Thanks to some blocked shots and a couple of saves from goaltender Darcy Kuemper, the Wild managed to get back to even strength cleanly before eventually rolling to a 6-3 win.

“That was huge for us to kill that and keep the lead,” Spurgeon said. “We had the momentum after that.”

That is what a good penalty kill can provide for a team, and through three games, the Wild boast one of the best units in the NHL — 11 for 11 and one of three teams yet to allow a power-play goal.

“Scott (Stevens) is doing a great job with it,” Bruce Boudreau said of his assistant coach. “He is very detailed about it. … We can continue to get better. We have used (about) 10 different penalty killers and haven’t settled in yet. It will be a work in progress.”

Stevens said that depth has allowed the team to be more aggressive. That aggressiveness on the penalty kill, Spurgeon said, is increased compared to seasons past.

“We are better on the forecheck when we’re on the penalty kill,” he said. “That has made it so teams haven’t really gotten clean entries into the zone. … And once the other team gets into our zone, we have been more aggressive on pucks.”

Spurgeon plays on the power play, too, and knows how tough it can be playing against an aggressive penalty kill. Charlie Coyle also plays on both special teams units and agreed that the aggressiveness has been a main factor in the team’s 100 percent success rate.

“Sometimes it’s too easy when teams play passive and let the other team set up,” he said. “I know if a guy is coming at me and I’m on my backhand in the corner, that’s a tough thing to try to make a play under pressure. You’re thinking. You panic. Then the puck is out of the zone.

“So, if we can be that way when the time is right, we’re going to continue to see success.”

Eventually a power-play goal is going to go in; Stevens knows that. But he likes what he’s seen to this point.

“They are disciplined,” he said. “They know the No. 1 priority is to get the kill. We aren’t looking to score, even though we are creating some chances because we’re in such good position right now. You have to give a lot of credit to the players for buying in to what we’re preaching.”