Vegas Golden Knights avoid being "goalie'd," defeat the Minnesota Wild

Many Vegas Golden Knights fans weren't expecting to see Marc-Andre Fleury play on Sunday. The former Golden Knights netminder already played against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, leading the Minnesota Wild to a 4-1 victory. Ironically, they didn't see Filip Gustavsson on Sunday.

Instead, it was rookie netminder, Jesper Wallstedt. That only meant one thing for the Golden Knights: Being "goalie'd."

Combine that with a Hart Trophy candidate in Kirill Kaprizov on a back-to-back and you have a recipe for disaster. There's no way the Golden Knights were winning this game, right?

Wrong.

Despite Kaprizov scoring two goals, including the game-opener a minute and 30 seconds in, the Golden Knights persevered and won, 3-2. Shea Theodore had a goal and assist in the game, while Mark Stone added an assist on Theodore's goal. Victor Olofsson continued to impress the Vegas faithful, adding a power play goal of his own. Victor Olofson added another third-period goal, which was the game-winner.

There was a scary situation in the game, where Ivan Barbashev got tangled up with Marcus Foligno. It resulted in a messy scrum involving Foligno and Keegan Kolesar, who avenged his fallen teammate.

Wallstedt stopped 24 of 27 shots, a solid start for someone with minimal NHL experience. As for Ilya Samsonov? He stopped 20 of 22 shots, stopping a late barrage to clinch the Golden Knights's 20th win. They improved their record to 20-8-3, boosting their point total to 43. The Golden Knights conclude a three-game road trip with four out of points, an impressive mark for the club. As for Minnesota, their record falls to 20-7-4.

What's next for the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild?

The Vegas Golden Knights return for a three-game homestand, starting on Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. They'll also play the Seattle Kraken (Saturday, December 21) and the Anaheim Ducks (Monday, December 23) in that homestand. The schedule eases up after that Vancouver game, with contests against teams like the Montreal Canadiens and San Jose Sharks.

The Minnesota Wild will continue their current five-game homestand with a contest against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. They will face each other on Wednesday, December 18. The five-game stand ends on Friday, December 20. Their opponent will be the Utah Hockey Club.

A few weeks ago, the Golden Knights had a solid five-game road trip, securing seven out of 10 points. Many people dismissed the trip as the Golden Knights "feasting on weak teams." However, they continue silencing the critics, defeating the Winnipeg Jets and Wild along the way. When you defeat Connor Hellebuyck and Kirill Kaprizov on your road trip, you know you've done well.

It's time to start taking the Golden Knights seriously as a Stanley Cup contender. It's the little things the team is doing extraordinarily well, from Victor Olofsson's seventh goal in 11 games to Jack Eichel becoming the fastest Golden Knights star to 200 points (195 games). If the team stays healthy and plays at a high clip, people should start viewing them as championship-caliber again (looking at you, MoneyPuck). You've been warned, rookie goaltenders.