\n\tBoth have been really solid this season. As a duo, they are second best in the NHL in save percentage behind the Colorado Avalanche\u2019s pair with .908. The Wild are 4th in the league in Goals Against Average (GAA) at 2.88, with only the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado, and the upcoming first-round opponent, the Dallas Stars, ahead of them.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen looking at individual accolades, Wallstedt is second in the NHL with a .915 save percentage. Gus has more modest stats. However, these two have been a steady pair. Since Wallstedt solidified himself in the NHL, Gustavsson and Wallstedt have been switching off every other game, with head coach John Hynes rotating them regardless of the caliber of the opponent.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe conundrum comes with how each of them has been playing recently.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tGustavsson is 2-4 in his past six starts and has given up four or more goals in five of those starts. That includes the cataclysmic start<\/a> against Dallas, which cost the Wild a chance at home ice in this upcoming playoff series.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tEven in Gus\u2019s last start, he allowed five goals to the St. Louis Blues. Now, not all of those were his fault. Still, he let in some soft ones in both his last starts. Those are goals that he can\u2019t allow in the playoffs.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn the other corner, Wallstedt has been on fire lately and will get the last start of the year against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. In all eight of his starts since the Olympics, Wally has kept the Wild in the games he has started, allowing two goals or fewer in seven of those starts. Wallstedt\u2019s numbers are even more impressive with a .927 save percentage and a .197 goals against average.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWallstedt has been confident, and he should be.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens,\u201d Wallstedt said<\/a> when asked if he would feel confident if he got the Game 1 start.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think I\u2019ve played some really good hockey down the stretch now. I think the last 10, 11, 12 games, maybe \u2026 have been really solid, even though I haven\u2019t won all of them. I think my game is in a great position. I\u2019m very confident in where I\u2019m at, and I feel like I keep our team in games sometimes. And I want to just give them as good of a chance to win every game. So I really like where I\u2019m at.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tHynes has not committed to who will get the start in Game 1.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI haven\u2019t gone down that road yet of that decision,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cI think I\u2019m focused on both guys and seeing where both end up after the next two games, and then we\u2019ll make a decision.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tMinnesota\u2019s decision is complicated. The numbers would suggest that you should give the start to Wallstedt. He\u2019s been better lately, and history suggested that a hot goalie can take you far in the playoffs. But the last time Wally played the Stars, it was not pretty.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tWallstedt\u2019s first game<\/a> in the NHL against Dallas is his only experience against the Stars, and then it went, well\u2026\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tHowever, the Wallstedt who started that game and the goalie that the Wild have right now are nowhere near the same player. And in big games this year, Wallstedt has risen to the occasion. He hasn\u2019t had a game like the one he had in Dallas yet during his NHL career.\n<\/p>\n \n\tStill, if you ignore Gustavsson\u2019s last start, he has been good against Dallas, especially in the playoffs. When you look at his numbers in his last two times in the playoffs, he has a combined 2.52 GAA and .917 SV%, which is respectable. So why would you turn away from a guy who has proven success against the team you face in the playoffs?\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt would surprise me if the Wild start Wallstedt. However, at this point, their play is speaking for itself. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where a poor goaltending performance can cost you a series, you cannot afford to mess these decisions up.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tGustavsson would be a fine choice to start. I imagine he\u2019ll be able to rebound, but Gustavsson has been a streaky goalie in the past. To start him while he\u2019s struggling in net would be foolish. He\u2019s still a good option to fall back on if Wallstedt falters. However, he\u2019s not the guy who should be starting when you have a goalie of Wallstedt\u2019s caliber on the bench.<\/p>\n But Gustavsson is not the only goalie who gets in his head. Wallstedt was open<\/a> about his mental struggles after the Wild kept him in Iowa<\/a> after indicating he\u2019d play in the NHL last year. So, rewarding his play with the start would go a long way toward boosting his confidence and ensuring you get the Wild\u2019s best goaltender in net.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe duo works. The skill level of both goalies is evident, and that allows the team to leave little room for error. Hynes shouldn\u2019t hesitate to change netminders during the series.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tStarting Wallsted in Game 1 raises the Wild\u2019s ceiling. You give the arguably better goalie, and hotter goalie, the reins and let him rise to the occasion as he\u2019s shown he can. If he falters, you turn to your veteran goalie who has had success in the past and hope he can stabilize the ship.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t know if Hynes has made up his mind on who should be the starter for the opening game yet. That\u2019s a tough call because of the success they have both had. Gus is the veteran; he\u2019s established himself. Wallstedt has never played a playoff game, let alone one against the firepower that the Stars have.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut the Wild are the underdog. They need to try to find an advantage wherever they can. Wallstedt\u2019s ability to tap into his high-end play in big moments could be the advantage the Wild need to steal a game and make this series a little more even.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAll stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is only one question on every Minnesota Wild fan\u2019s mind right now. Who\u2019s getting the start between…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,1115,92948,2960,2484],"class_list":["post-250284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-dallas-stars","tag-filip-gustavsson","tag-minnesota-wild","tag-nhl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"image.png\"](\"https:\/\/hockeywilderness.com\/uploads\/monthly_2026_04\/image.png.3c285d58a22d4f43c5ef048795b2e000.png\")
\n<\/p>\n