The Wild made a big move at last Monday's NHL trade deadline, acquiring three-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks.
In the meantime, the Wild's incumbent goalie had three strong performances and earned the league's first star of the week.
Cam Talbot won three games — two in overtime — and had a 1.33 goals against average and .959 save percentage as the Wild extended its win streak to six games.
He blanked Vegas 3-0 on Tuesday for his 26th career shutout, making 28 saves. On Thursday he beat Vancouver 3-2 with 26 saves, and on Sunday he stopped Colorado 3-2 with 40 saves. Talbot, 34, is unbeaten in his past nine appearances and ranks 10th in the NHL with 27 wins.
Calgary left winger Johnny Gaudreau, who had two goals and eight assists in three games, was the second star and Edmonton center Leon Draisaitl, who had six goals in four games, was third star.
UMD's Cates will debut at X
The Flyers signed Minnesota Duluth captain Noah Cates to a two-year, entry level contract, and he's set to make his NHL debut at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday.
Cates was a fifth-round pick in 2017 and played for the U.S. Olympic team in China in February. The 23-year-old left winger from Stillwater had 99 points in 139 games at UMD, winning a national title in 2019. His brother Jackson has played 11 games for the Flyers this season but is on the injured list.
