3 takeaways from Golden Knights’ loss: Road woes continue

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild’s trade deadline day featured two deals from general manager Bill Guerin, an impromptu news conference from new goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and raucous fans ready to celebrate a potential Stanley Cup-contending roster.

The Knights’ Monday was much more chaotic. Defenseman Zach Whitecloud, right wing Michael Amadio and assistant coach Ryan McGill entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. A trade sending right wing Evgenii Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks was announced but later hit a snag. Call-ups were rushed from Henderson.

It’s little surprise how the game turned out. The Wild, the team that spent the past three days trying to improve its roster, fared far better than the short-handed Knights.

Minnesota won 3-0 at Xcel Energy Center before an energized announced crowd of 17,498 for its third straight victory and the Knights’ sixth consecutive road loss.

“If you look at the effort a lot of guys put in tonight, you can be proud of that,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “We’ve said that a lot. We have to find a way to win hockey games.”

The Knights entered Monday with six players on injured reserve and defenseman Nic Hague (undisclosed) not on their two-game trip. Defenseman Derrick Pouliot then was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Kraken. That — plus Whitecloud, Amadio and Dadonov being unavailable — meant the team had to call up right wing Jonas Rondbjerg, left wing Paul Cotter and defensemen Zack Hayes and Daniil Miromanov for depth.

Coach Pete DeBoer said they arrived 15 minutes before warmups. Rondbjerg and Hayes played, with Hayes making his NHL debut.

The contrast between the sides was obvious on the Wild’s first goal. Left wing Nicolas Deslauriers, whom Minnesota traded a 2023 third-round pick to Anaheim for Saturday, scored 5:43 into the first period.

The Knights had five rookies on the ice — Rondbjerg, Hayes, left wing Jake Leschyshyn, defenseman Brayden Pachal and goaltender Logan Thompson — and center Brett Howden.

Defenseman Matt Dumba added to Minnesota’s lead with a shot from the high slot 5:46 into the third period. Center Ryan Hartman sealed the Wild’s win with an empty-net goal with 6.1 seconds remaining.

Goaltender Cam Talbot, on the day Minnesota traded for a goalie in Fleury who might unseat him as the primary starter, stopped 28 shots for his second shutout and sixth straight win. The Knights have been shut out five times.

“Tough day on our group,” DeBoer said. “There’s not a lot of moral victories this time of year because you need the points, but I was proud of our effort.”

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Thompson fares well

Thompson, returning to the site of his NHL debut March 10, 2021, continued to reward the faith the Knights’ coaching staff has put in him.

The rookie made 33 saves in his third straight start. He improved his save percentage in seven appearances to .918.

Thompson did get some help. Wild right wing Kevin Fiala put the puck in the net with 9:22 left in the first period, but the goal did not count because of a scrum behind the play. Defenseman Ben Hutton denied Deslauriers a second goal in the first period by clearing a puck out of the crease.

“I’m getting more confident,” Thompson said. “Obviously, those are two goals I want to have back. I am starting to feel better about my game and just going to keep building off it.”

2. Deslauriers stands out

Deslauriers wasted no time making fans in Minnesota.

The physical fourth-liner didn’t just score in his Wild debut. He delivered several glass-shaking checks and was tied for the game high with six hits.

Deslauriers got a loud ovation from the crowd in the third period when he dragged Knights left wing William Karlsson out of Minnesota’s crease by Karlsson’s shoulder.

3. Quick turnaround

Monday’s absences meant the Knights leaned on a few key players against the Wild.

Eight skaters played more than 20 minutes, led by Pietrangelo’s 27:40. They will have to recover fast because the team plays Tuesday in Winnipeg.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.