Talbot, Wild blank Vegas 3-0 as Fleury watches from bench
Minnesota Wild's Alex Goligoski (47) keeps Vegas Golden Knights' Nicolas Roy (10) at bay as he assists goalie Cam Talbot defending the net in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, March 21, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Nicolas Deslauriers scored in his Minnesota debut and Cam Talbot stopped 28 shots for the shutout after Marc-Andre Fleury was acquired at the trade deadline to share time with him in the Wild net, leading a 3-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
Matt Dumba also had a goal and Ryan Hartman added an empty-netter for the Wild, who won their third straight game and climbed into second place in the Central Division. The arena was abuzz for the arrival of Fleury, the three-time Stanley Cup champion and reigning Vezina Trophy winner who was fetched in a deal with Chicago.
Talbot, who was selected for his first All-Star game this year, was injured in January and slumping in February to push goaltending toward the top of the team’s to-do list. Talbot won his sixth straight start for his 26th career shutout and second of the season.
The Wild, who traded backup goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to San Jose earlier in the day, added Fleury to form an experienced tandem with Talbot, not to bench the 34-year-old. The 37-year-old Fleury, who ranks third in NHL history with 511 goaltender wins, watched from the bench wearing a forest green baseball cap and his familiar boyishly wide smile.
Fleury’s first time wearing a Wild uniform happened to come against the Golden Knights, who he backstopped for the previous four seasons while posting a 2.25 goals against average over 47 playoff games.
Rookie Logan Thompson stopped 33 shots for the Golden Knights, doing his best to keep the game close after a career-best 38 saves to beat Los Angeles on Saturday.
Deslauriers, who was acquired on Saturday in a trade with Anaheim to help bulk up the fourth line, put the Wild on the board at 5:43 of the first period. Brandon Duhaime, from behind the net, set Deslauriers up for the snap shot from the slot after another recent trade acquisition, Tyson Jost, took control of the puck.
The Golden Knights, who have been ravaged by injuries this season and still have standouts Robin Lehner, Mark Stone, Alec Martinez, Max Pacioretty and Brayden McNabb on injured reserve, traded forward Evgenii Dadonov to Anaheim in the afternoon.
Forward Michael Amadio and defenseman Zach Whitecloud were sidelined before the game due to COVID-19, which also kept assistant coach Ryan McGill out.
NOTES
The Golden Knights are 2-8 in their last 10 road games. … The Wild are 7-0-2 all-time in the regular season at home against the Golden Knights. … Defenseman Zachary Hayes made his NHL debut for Vegas.
UP NEXT
Golden Knights: visit Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
Wild: host Vancouver on Thursday night.
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