After what will go down as one of, if not the most historic trade deadlines in Minnesota Wild history, the hometown team (37-20-4) shutout the unlucky Vegas Golden Knights (34-27-4) 3-0 in a back-and-forth battle. With the newly acquired Marc-Andre Fleury flying into St. Paul late Monday afternoon, Cam Talbot played between the pipes in what was arguably his best game of the season, stopping all 28 shots to earn his second shutout this year.
Cam Talbot blanked Vegas in Minnesota's 3-0 win and spoke with @Gorgamatic21 about it all afterwards. pic.twitter.com/3H6uFDsHvX
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) March 22, 2022
As the puck dropped in downtown St. Paul the Xcel Energy Center was as electric as it has been all season with a new look Wild taking their game to Vegas. Bigfoot himself, excuse me, Nicolas Deslauriers took to the fourth line for his first game in the forest green which instantly brought excitement to the ice. Heavy hits left and right, strong forecheck, and finally a puck that he zipped to the back of the net was everything he could’ve asked for AND some, in his debut. Oh, did I forget to mention that all of that was just in the first period? He was an absolute beast.
Talk about an instant impact‼️
— NHL (@NHL) March 22, 2022
First game with the @mnwild, first goal for Nicolas Deslauriers. pic.twitter.com/DDW97b3ji3
Going into the middle frame with all the momentum, the puck seemed to have gotten away from them for a bit as the Golden Knights started to spend more time in the offensive zone, tiring out our d-men and putting pucks on net. Unfortunately, for the bad guys Talbot remained a brick wall and didn’t allow anything to slip through.
While the second period remained scoreless, the third period brought the horn back to life as the Minnesota Wild notched two goals, one even-man and the other on the empty net as the Wild sent the Golden Knights packing.
It was a win that put us ahead of St. Louis in the standings, it was a win that showed the NHL that the new look team means business, and it was a win that will give us strong momentum as we approach the playoffs.
Going 5-1-1 in their last seven games, this team has been playing with more confidence than ever. With a few days off, the hometown Wild will rest and regroup to prepare for battle against a Vancouver Canucks team that’s struggling to get in the win column as of late.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM Thursday night and get ready to maybe see a new name between the pipes in future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury.