Kevin Fiala wowed Wild teammates with winning goal on a fancy redirection

LAS VEGAS – The Wild bench wasn't sure what just happened.

"How did that puck go in?" defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said. "Then we see the replay and we all said, 'Wow.'"

That was an appropriate reaction to Kevin Fiala's game-winning goal on Wednesday in a 5-2 takedown of the Coyotes, a fancy redirection by the winger as he swung the shaft of his stick at a puck in midair to tuck it just under the crossbar.

"I didn't have much space to get it in," said Fiala, who ranked the finish as one of the best he's had. "So it was lucky to get in."

Not only was the goal impressive, it was also significant — snapping a 10-game goalless skid for Fiala, who felt he could have capitalized more in the game.

"His energy level was real good," coach Dean Evason said. "When he's moving his feet, he's separating. He was separating from people constantly [against Arizona]. Obviously, he's got great hands. But when his legs are doing what they're doing [Wednesday night], it's pretty tough to defend him."

Aside from the goal, Fiala picked up two assists for the seventh three-plus point effort of his career.

And while he ended that dry spell in memorable fashion, the lead-up was solid, too.

"He can score in a lot of different ways," Evason said. "If he brings that energy level, if he's engaged as he was [Wednesday night] and he's moving his feet and he's not trying to go through people — you score a pretty goal like that, you don't have to be that creative. You just have to be a little more simple and then let that come to you.

"That's what he did, not just on that goal, but for the entire evening."

Elite company

The game Wednesday in Arizona was Evason's 80th as head coach of the Wild, and the win counted as his 52nd behind the bench.

A new Knight

Vegas made the splashiest trade of the season so far, adding Jack Eichel in a Nov.4 deal with Buffalo that included sending former Wild forward Alex Tuch to the Sabres.

But the Wild didn't face off against Eichel on Thursday.

He's expected to undergo surgery on his neck on Friday, a procedure that was at the forefront of his standoff with Buffalo. While Eichel wanted artificial disc replacement surgery, which has never been performed on an NHL player, the Sabres wanted a fusion surgery.

The Golden Knights were fine with Eichel's preferred surgery, and he could be ready to return to action in as soon as three months. But before the center landed in Vegas, speculation had a handful of teams vying to acquire Eichel — including the Wild.