ST. PAUL, Minn. — Make no mistake, Jesper Wallstedt wanted the net again.
The Wild rookie goaltender, who gave up a career-high eight goals in Game 1, was hoping to get a chance to bounce back in Tuesday’s Game 2. But coach John Hynes informed the 23-year-old Swede the day before that he wasn’t starting and instead Filip Gustavsson was getting the surprise nod.
Judging by Wallstedt’s demeanor after Tuesday’s morning skate, he looked a little ticked off. That was probably just the competitor in him. Wallstedt said the coaching staff explained its reasoning, which helped put it in perspective.
“Obviously, you want to play every game, but I also understood why,” Wallstedt told The Athletic on Friday. “I thought it was valid. I was ready. It was one game, too. I felt like I played a lot of good hockey, especially before. There were some goals I wanted back. It wasn’t my best game, either. But it’s only one loss either way — it doesn’t matter if it was a 1-0 game or 3-2 game or 9-6 game. Just have to bounce back.”
Asked what reasons Hynes gave him, such as giving him a mental reset, Wallstedt said he didn’t want to get into the specifics. But it made sense.
“It was a smart play,” Wallstedt said. “It was good timing to get Gus in to play as well, too. Obviously, you give up eight goals, it’s a good reason to try another (goalie). No bad feelings about that.”
Hynes officially announced that Wallstedt is getting the net back for Game 3 on Saturday morning. Again, it makes sense. Wallstedt is the one who helped get the Wild to the second round for the first time in a decade. His confidence, calmness and clutch play impressed teammates and staff alike.
Now Wallstedt has a chance to show he can bounce back after a big loss.
“Whatever happens for Game 3, Game 1 was a good learning experience,” Wallstedt said. “I’ve played Colorado before, and that was just a different game. I didn’t play my best hockey. You reset, you look at stuff. It’s just like everything else — like the penalty kill, the power play. I look at stuff to get better at.
“Everyone tries to become better from the games we played. There’s some stuff I can adjust to if I’m playing them again. It just makes me a better goalie.”
The Avalanche did seem to find a spot at the left circle, a scoring area, as Nazem Kadri called it, where they were able to beat Wallstedt several times in Game 1. They weren’t all shot on net at the same location, though, and Wallstedt dismissed any idea after the game that there was something to it.
Wallstedt felt Game 1 was an anomaly all around, for both teams, with the rare 9-6 score. Minnesota was coming right off its emotional Game 6 win over Dallas three nights before, so the Wild have had much more time to reset and prepare in the last three days.
“I thought our last game was a lot tighter,” Wallstedt said. “That was a game that could have gone either way, easily. I think our five-on-five is really good. (Friday) we got to work on special teams a bit. I think it’ll be an even better Game 3 now.”
The confidence hasn’t left Wallstedt, who has the experience of beating the Avalanche during the regular season. The Wild are down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, but Hynes said things can “change in a heartbeat.”
“It’s not like they’re impossible to beat,” Wallstedt said. “It seems like everyone thinks they’re some impossible team. They’re really good, obviously, but so are we. We just had to see some details, see some stuff we can get better (at) as a group. And for myself as well.”