MN Wild Make Another Surprising Goalie Change
After the Minnesota Wild lost Game 1 of their playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in a wild 9-6 shootout at Ball Arena, Wild head coach John Hynes came off as bullish on his young netminder, who allowed eight goals.
In his postgame press conference, the MN Wild head coach seemed to shrug off suggestions that he might make a goalie change for Game 2. Not even 24 hours later, and after Avalanche players revealed a weakness they scouted in Wallstedt’s game before the series, Hynes’ mood had changed.
On Monday, when asked a form of the same goalie question as Sunday night, Hynes told reporters that he had not yet made up his mind on lineup decisions… included which goalie would be in net.
Minnesota Wild make another bold move at goalie
While the kid goalie has been performing well during first NHL Playoff experience, the goalie being paid to start playoff games — 26-year-old Filip Gustavsson — has been watching from the bench.
But not anymore. On Monday, during his pregame chat with media, Hynes revealed the rather shocking news that Minnesota is indeed going back to Gustavsson for Game 2 in Colorado.
Filip Gustavsson starting tonight for #mnwild. Gametime decisions on lineup
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) May 5, 2026
More on Wild Goalies: Filip Gustavsson Mad Over His Playoff Benching
Filip Gustavsson hasn’t even started the first year of a brand new 5-year deal worth $6.8 million per year and $34 million total. When he does, Gus will become the 11th highest-paid goaltender in the NHL, by AAV.
Wallstedt bet paid off, hopefully Filip Gustavsson bet does too
That’s part of what made the switch to Wallstedt — who had yet to play in a postseason NHL game prior to Game 1 in Dallas — such a bold move. And thankfully, the Minnesota Wild’s bet on Wallstedt paid off.
He started all six games against the Stars and led the MN Wild to their first playoff series victory in over a decade. Obviously, there was no question over who was starting in net. And that’s what makes this move just as bold as the first one that sent Gus Bus to the bench.
Yes, Jesper Wallstedt allowed 8 goals in Minnesota’s historic Game 1 loss. However, Filip Gustavsson was really bad late in the year, and finished with numbers less impressive than Wallstedt.
| Player | Age | GP | GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO | QS | QS% | RBS | GA%- | GSAA | GAA/A | GPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filip Gustavsson | 27 | 50 | 49 | 28 | 15 | 6 | .903 | 2.69 | 4 | 30 | .612 | 9 | 93 | 10.8 | 2.79 | 9.9 |
| Jesper Wallstedt | 23 | 35 | 33 | 18 | 9 | 6 | .915 | 2.61 | 4 | 23 | .697 | 4 | 82 | 19.6 | 2.73 | 8.5 |
Generated 5/5/2026.
John Hynes and Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations Bill Guerin better hope Gustavsson is as hungry as they claim, because going back to St. paul down 2-0 against the best team in hockey would be an extremely difficult mountain to climb over, even if the series hasn’t made a stop in St. Paul yet.
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