Not only was Wallstedt airtight in overtime, stopping three shots by the Kings during a 4-on-3 power play, but he was unbeatable in the shootout: His fourth save, against Andrei Kuzmenko, finalized the win after Marco Rossi scored for the Wild, and Wallstedt celebrated with a stick pump.
“I used to do it in Iowa last year the times we won in the shootout,” he said. “Just ended up happening out of excitement.”
The nod to his past was appropriate.
Despite the Wild blowing a three-goal lead, the struggles Wallstedt, 22, went through last season in the minors helped keep him focused after the Kings forced overtime.
A first-round pick out of Sweden in 2021, Wallstedt played up to his scouting report as a technically sound goaltender during his first two seasons in the American Hockey League, winning a combined 40 games.