Kaapo Kahkonen, Wild's penalty kill team up to slow down Golden Knights

The Golden Knights weren't relying on the same lineup that swept the Wild just last week when they showed up for Round 3 Monday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Missing due to injury were two key players, captain Mark Stone and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

But what was also different for the Golden Knights was the opposing netminder.

After backing up Cam Talbot in the two losses at Vegas, Kaapo Kahkonen got a turn against the West Division leaders and he had an answer for every shot he faced – blanking the Golden Knights 2-0 to secure his first career shutout.

Kahkonen finished with 26 saves and extended his win streak to seven games, the longest in Wild history for a rookie goaltender.

"He was outstanding," coach Dean Evason said. "It was such a grinding game tonight, but he was just very calm, very solid, obviously very good. It was a bit of an ugly game, but two points is two points."

Evason's right.

The Wild definitely muscled its way to victory, which moved the team within four points of the top spot in the division. But the workmanlike effort was a perfect complement to Kahkonen's patient posture between the pipes.

Kahkonen didn't have to scramble to keep the puck out, with his positioning enabling him to end up in most shots' trajectories. And that composure seemed to set the tone for the entire team.

"He's very calm and confident in his abilities," captain Jared Spurgeon said. "He's been playing great and making saves when we need them most, especially with some of those where there's a guy sort of sitting there. He's swallowing up those rebounds quick, as well, so they're not getting those second chances."

What also helped Kahkonen stymie the Golden Knights was the penalty kill, which went 3-for-3.

"When we were down a man, we had good pressure, good blocks," Spurgeon said. "Kaapo was making some big saves for us, so that was definitely key in the game."

Had Vegas been able to sneak a puck by Kahkonen the woeful power play would have been magnified.

The unit went 0-for-2, whiffing on chances that would have provided the team with an insurance goal.

Instead, the Wild is now in a 0-for-19 dry spell and is 5-for-74 overall – the worst clip in the NHL.

But, with Kahkonen on a roll, the Wild needed just one goal, and Kevin Fiala supplied it to tie center Joel Erikson Ek for the most goals on the team with eight.

Fiala scored off a 2-on-1 rush and while his shot was slick, rising over goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's blocker, it was his speed that helped set up the play. The same happened Friday at Arizona when the winger also scored on a nifty shot after flying into the zone.

"Always try to have speed and sometimes the bounces are with you and sometimes not," Fiala said. "I felt tonight they were with us. Had a couple 2-on-1s and I feel if I play good, my speed is here. So, that's what I'm trying to do."