Wild's Kevin Fiala on his highlight-reel goal: 'It was lucky.' His teammates: 'Wow.'

Nov. 11—LAS VEGAS — Wild forward Kevin Fiala surprised everyone — including himself — with an unbelievable goal in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.

With the puck floating through midair, Fiala contorted his arms in a way that still doesn't quite make sense. Then, in a fluid motion, he got his stick on the puck, tucking it into a small sliver of space between goaltender Karel Vejmelka's shoulder and the crossbar.

As his teammates mobbed him in to celebrate, Fiala's jaw dropped, a reaction that perfectly encapsulated the moment. He was just as surprised as anyone that the puck found the back of the net.

KEVIN FIALA! ARE YOU KIDDING!?

What a goal on NHL Veterans Appreciation Night game presented by @NavyFederal.

: @NHL_On_TNT https://t.co/Dh66zxasam pic.twitter.com/2N9IpryUL6

— NHL (@NHL) November 11, 2021

"I was a little impressed," Fiala said with a bashful smile. "I can be honest. That was not a usual goal."

Where does it rank for Fiala over the course of his career?

"That was probably the best, I would say," he admitted. "I didn't have much space to get it in. It was lucky."

Asked how he executed the highlight-reel goal, Fiala shook his head in disbelief. Just throwing his stick out there and hoping for the best?

"No, I tried to hit it like I hit it," Fiala said. "But it was a lucky goal."

Some people already are putting his goal right up there with the incredible individual effort from Edmonton star Connor McDavid for goal of the year. He dangled the entire New York Rangers team last week en route to his flashy goal.

CONNOR. MCDAVID.

WHAT. A. GOAL. pic.twitter.com/ujq0WeMSbw

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2021

As for Fiala, he's hopeful he can build off his one-of-a-kind goal. His game has been trending in the right direction over the past couple of weeks despite him not scoring a goal since the Oct. 15 season opener.

Despite Fiala's scoring drought, coach Dean Evason could tell it was only a matter of time before he got rewarded for his effort.

"His energy level is real good," Evason said. "When he's moving his feet, he's separating. He was separating from people constantly (in Wednesday's game). Obviously, he's got great hands. But when his legs are doing what they're doing, it's pretty tough to defend him."

Meanwhile, an hour or so after his goal, Fiala's teammates were still in awe of what he did.

"The way that he collected that play and put it under the bar was impressive," defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said. "To be honest, we were sitting on the bench and we didn't even know what happened. It was like, 'How did that puck go in?' Then we see the replay, and we all said, 'Wow.' "

There's not much more to say.