Wallstedt is the story in Minnesota's crease because there's nobody behind him. Filip Gustavsson went on long-term injured reserve with a hip injury, which leaves the job to a young goalie who has started every game so far. He's held up well. He made 19 saves in the opener against Nashville, 26 against Boston, and allowed 1 goal on 28 shots in Sunrise. Vegas, whose top 6 can actually finish, is the toughest test he's faced yet.
Kaprizov has carried the offense. He has 2-goal nights against Boston and Florida plus the opener's winner off a Quinn Hughes shot. Hughes has been the engine from the back end, with a goal and an assist against the Bruins, and that matters more than usual right now. Brock Faber is out indefinitely after surgery to repair a fractured skull, and Zach Bogosian missed the Florida game with a lower-body injury, so Hughes and Jared Spurgeon are eating a lot of hard minutes. The Eichel line will test that thinned-out defense all night.
The forward group is thin too. Marcus Foligno sat out Saturday's game with a lower-body injury, and Nick Foligno is on IR, which takes 2 heavy bottom-6 bodies out of the lineup against a Vegas team that loves to grind on the forecheck. Watch whether either Foligno or Bogosian is back by Monday. Vegas has its own hole, with Victor Olofsson out with an undisclosed injury, but the Golden Knights' depth has absorbed it so far.
The matchup is simple enough. Minnesota has won on the road by scoring early and letting Wallstedt protect the lead. Vegas has been the team that gets to its game first and stays there. If the Wild get the first goal and keep the Eichel line from controlling the middle of the ice, they'll make this a fight. If they don't, a beat-up Minnesota blue line spends 60 minutes chasing.