FSM Essential Preview: Golden Knights vs Wild Game 22

After handling business over the weekend with two straight wins against the Sharks, the Vegas Golden Knights will resume play tonight against the Minnesota Wild.

The Knights are now on a six-game winning streak and have a goal differential of +25, so it is not much of a reach to say they are playing some excellent hockey right now. As we near the midpoint of the season, this is exactly what you would want to see as the team has been building momentum each game. The Knights have also shown that they can win in a multitude of ways, which is typical when on a winning streak as long as the Knights are on.

While not all wins were as dominating as Saturday’s 4-0 shutout of the Sharks, it is hard to complain after winning six games in a row. It seems to me that the outdoor game against Colorado was a bit of a wake-up call as they handled the Avalanche 3-0 and have not lost since. Vegas will look to continue their winning ways as they play the Minnesota Wild for the third time this season tonight.

Since their last matchup which saw the Knights win 5-1, the Wild have gone 1-1 splitting a two game series against the Arizona Coyotes with their last game being a loss.

Look for the Wild to try and have a rebound game as they will be on home ice and try to improve upon their 5-2 loss in their last game. As I have stated before, Minnesota can be a very dangerous team when allowed to dictate the pace of play and establish possession in their opponent’s zone. The VGK should try and replicate their performance from the last time they played the Wild, where they limited time in their own zone and were able to break out quickly and effectively. Neither team has a definite advantage in terms of special teams, so the 5 on 5 play should be a good indicator of who will likely come away with two points in the standings. Both VGK and the Wild are in the bottom ten in terms of powerplay percentage, and both are in the top six in regards to penalty kill percentage, so I don’t believe penalties will be as big of a factor as usual.

There was some concern after Saturday’s game because Mark Stone left the game. Still, it appears to be nothing major as coach DeBoer referred to the incident saying, “I would call it precautionary more than an injury.”

This is understandable as the Knights were already up 3-0 in the game, and it wouldn’t make sense to risk a serious injury to such an important player. With their captain most likely good to go, and Marc Andre Fleury now leading the league in shutouts with all the confidence in the world, VGK has no reason to see a drop off in their performance. This is important because the team’s next four games will be a good test of their merit and will either see them continue to separate themselves from the pack or fall back to earth in the standings.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Monday evening taking on the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The puck drop is set for 5:00 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

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-D.J. Wood– Franchise Sports Media

Follow D.J. on Twitter @DJwoody97

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