Kaapo Kahkonen recorded his first career shutout, making 26 saves to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 2-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night, snapping Vegas’ six-game winning streak.
The composed Kahkonen notched his seventh consecutive win, extending his record for a Wild rookie goalie and improving to 10-4 in his debut season. The 24-year-old Finnish goaltender has allowed only 10 goals during his winning streak, impressing his team with his calm demeanor and consistency.
“If you want to stay calm, you need to look calm,” Kahkonen said. “That lets your teammates know you’re doing your job so they can focus on theirs. That’s what I aim to do.”
Kevin Fiala scored his eighth goal of the season in the first period, tying for the team lead, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves for the Golden Knights. Jonas Brodin was awarded an empty-net goal after being slashed with six seconds remaining. But Kahkonen stole the spotlight as he began solidifying his role over Cam Talbot as Minnesota’s primary goalie. The Wild (14-8-1) are chasing the Golden Knights (16-5-1) in the competitive West Division.
“Unbelievable goalie. He makes saves and controls rebounds,” said Fiala.
According to Wild coach Dean Evason, calmness is something you either have or don’t.
“My guess is he’s been like that his whole life,” Evason said.
Vegas, which had averaged 19 goals over its previous four games, struggled offensively. It was the first time the Golden Knights scored fewer than two goals in nearly a month. The fact that two key players, Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo, were missing due to injuries didn’t help. The team captain, Stone, entered the night with 21 assists, placing him seventh in the NHL.
“I felt with our depth, we could compete, and we did. We just didn’t generate enough offense,” said Vegas coach Peter DeBoer.
Fleury, who posted his fourth shutout of the season in his previous game, kept Vegas close during the game. However, Minnesota capitalized on an early Vegas turnover to grab the lead. Victor Rask collected the loose puck and set up Fiala on a two-on-one breakaway with Zach Parise. Fiala used Parise as a decoy before firing a wrist shot over Fleury’s shoulder midway through the first period.
“He made a quick move, froze me for a moment, and gave himself a better angle,” Fleury said. “It was a great shot.”
POWER PLAY WOES
Minnesota’s power play struggled, going 0-for-2, dropping them to a league-worst 6.8% conversion rate (5 for 74). Meanwhile, Vegas is second in the NHL in penalty-killing at 88.1%.
INJURY UPDATES
DeBoer said Pietrangelo and Stone would be reevaluated ahead of the next game. The Wild have now won four straight home games. Stone was named the NHL’s first star of the week, scoring two goals and notching eight assists in four games.
UP NEXT
- The teams meet again on Wednesday in St. Paul. Afterward, Vegas heads to St. Louis for a two-game series against the Blues. Minnesota will host the Arizona Coyotes for three games starting Friday.