DALLAS — On an otherwise imperfect evening, Minnesota Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt was perfect when it counted. He made 31 saves in regulation and in overtime, as the Wild saw a 3-0 lead slip away, but prevailed in a shootout for a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Monday at Grand Casino Arena.

Settling into the backup role behind Filip Gustavsson, Wallstedt foiled shootout attempts by Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore, Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko of Los Angeles, offering a celebratory punch of his blocker hand after the last one, which got the Wild their first home win of the season.

With that much success versus the four Kings, it was as if the Minnesota scouting staff had Wallstedt well-prepared for what might be coming. Not so, said the 22-year-old Swede. While there are plenty of scouting reports available, he doesn’t like to spend too much time with them.

“I had no idea. I like to keep it that way. A clean slate. Just go out, make the read, play off your feet and what you see,” Wallstedt said after his first career shootout win.

Following Wallstedt’s save on former Wild forward Fiala, Marco Rossi scored for Minnesota, setting up the goalie’s chance to clinch the two points.

“And then we scored, I just thought to myself, ‘This is the moment you’ve been dreaming for. You have the chance to win it for your team. Just go out and make the save the same way I’ve been doing it three shots before,’ ” Wallstedt said. “Obviously, that happened.”

His decision to eschew the shootout scouting reports and rely on skills and instincts is not uncommon among some of the better goalies in the NHL. Dallas puck-stopper Jake Oettinger, the Lakeville native who splits his summer time between his hometown and a western Wisconsin cabin, said you can over-think things if you know too much about the shooters.

“I used to look at a sheet of what everyone used to do, and I think that kind of got in my head a little bit,” Oettinger said after the Stars’ morning skate on Tuesday. “I would be not even reading the play, just kind of what their tendencies were.”

Oettinger won his first shootout of the season in Dallas’ second game, at Colorado, and said that his gut feelings and athleticism are the keys to the one-on-one contests that determine an extra point when games are tied after 65 minutes.

“Now, I just try to be an athlete and read the play and have fun,” he said. “I think I’ve done pretty well in shootouts since then.”

Wary of the Wild power play

The Stars were off on Monday and had a chance to watch the Wild’s win Monday. Like most in the NHL, they have taken note of Minnesota’s seven power-play goals over the course of two games while preparing for their head-to-head meeting on Tuesday night in Texas.

“We saw the three (goals) last night. They’re on a roll,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan, back for his second stint with the team in the wake of Peter DeBoer dismissal after last season. “It’s like anything else, when you get hot, you get hot. So, we’ve got a good penalty kill, but they’ve got some special players.”

The Dallas players said the most important approach was to simply stay out of the penalty box versus Minnesota.

“Every game you want to be smart, you don’t want to take any unnecessary penalties, but especially against a team that’s been buzzing on the power play early on,” said Stars center Wyatt Johnston. “You’ve got to be really smart with all the little stuff.”

Briefly

Minnesota made a potential bottom-six change on Tuesday, with a five-game road trip upcoming. After getting his first two NHL games at center on the Wild’s fourth line, rookie Hunter Haight was sent down to Iowa, and the Wild recalled Ben Jones to fill that spot. Jones, 26, began this season with Iowa. He logged 26 games for Minnesota last season but did not record a NHL point.

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By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. struck another small boat that he accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela.

The Republican president said Tuesday in a post on social media that six people aboard the vessel were killed in the strike and no U.S. forces were harmed. It’s the fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean as the Trump administration has asserted that it is treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force.

Frustration with the administration has been growing on Capitol Hill among members of both parties. Some Republicans are seeking more information from the White House on the legal justification and details of the strikes. Democrats contend the strikes violate U.S. and international law.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia and the U.S. are facilitating efforts to secure an expanded ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia that they hope will be signed during a Southeast Asian summit later this month, Malaysia Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Tuesday.

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Thailand and Cambodia engaged in five days of combat in late July that killed dozens of people and displaced more than 260,000. They agreed to a ceasefire only after mediation by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless they agreed on a truce.

Tensions have remained high since the truce, particularly after Thai soldiers were injured by land mines in August while patrolling a buffer zone between the countries. Thailand accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the ceasefire, which the government in Phnom Penh has strongly denied.

FILE – Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, center, smiles with lawmakers before he presents the policy statement at the Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said Phnom Penh must accept four conditions. They include removal of heavy weapons from the border, land mine clearance, assistance to curb cross-border crime and managment of sensitive border zones to avoid further conflicts.

Mohamad said ongoing negotiations aim to broaden the ceasefire to include land mine clearance and withdrawal of heavy weapons. He expressed optimism that an agreement could be signed during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit Oct. 26-28, which is expected to draw some two dozen global leaders.

FILE – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, left, greets lawmakers as he arrives at the session on the draft law on amending the law on nationality at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh Cambodia, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Trump is scheduled to attend the conference in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Oct. 26 and hopes to witness the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Accord between Thailand and Cambodia, Mohamad said.

ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

By NICOLE WINFIELD

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV thanked Italy on Tuesday for its efforts to combat human trafficking but urged the country to remain open to welcoming and integrating migrants as he took part in a pomp-filled meeting with the Italian president.

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Leo completed the rite of passage for every new pope by travelling across Rome to the Qurinale Palace for a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella. Escorted by the presidential horse honor guard into the palace courtyard, Leo thanked Italy especially for its welcome of pilgrims during the 2025 Holy Year, which has seen millions of extra tourists pouring into the Eternal City.

Wearing his formal red cape and brocaded stole, Leo thanked Italy for its “generous assistance” to migrants and its efforts to combat human trafficking.

“I encourage you to keep alive your attitude of openness and solidarity,” he said. “At the same time, I wish to emphasize the importance of constructive integration of newcomers into the values and traditions of Italian society, so that the mutual gift realized in this encounter of peoples may truly enrich and benefit all.”

It was a reference to Italy’s role at ground zero in Europe’s migration debate, given its proximity to North Africa — making it the preferred destination for smuggling operations setting off from Libya and Tunisia.

The right-wing government of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has made cracking down on illegal migration a priority, including by sending migrants back home or to detention facilities in Albania and prosecuting alleged smugglers. Meloni and her hard-line minister Matteo Salvini were in the front row of the audience, held in a gilded reception room of the palace with extra-tall palace guards standing at attention.

Italy’s hard-line stance on migration has often conflicted with Pope Francis’ call for wealthier countries to welcome, defend and integrate newcomers, a position Leo repeated as recently as last week in his first main teaching document.

Tuesday’s encounter was evidence of the close ties between Italy and the Vatican, a 110-acre city state in the heart of Rome. The location itself underscored the unique and intertwined relationship: The Quirinale Palace was for centuries the summer residence of popes until 1870, when Rome was captured from the papal states and annexed into the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.

After decades in which popes were essentially prisoners of the Vatican, Italy and Holy See normalized relations in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, which is still in effect.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.