Minnesota Wild win 4-3 over Avalanche in first preseason game: Sammy Walker scores twice

The Minnesota Wild won 4-3 over the Colorado Avalanche on the road at Ball Arena on Sunday afternoon in their first preseason game of the year. The trio of roster hopefuls in Sammy Walker, Jujhar Khaira and Vinni Lettieri took center stage as each found the back of the net in the win. In other words, the trio is tasking the Wild's decision makers with a more difficult decision ahead.

The Wild's tight salary cap situation is well-documented. So is their 2023-24 roster, which is realistically set after the offseason trade addition in Pat Maroon and with Brock Faber and Marco Rossi essentially locks to make the team out of training camp.

The Wild only have $818,076 in cap space, according to PuckPedia, which means there's only a handful of players the Wild can afford if they want to carry a 13th forward. And if they do, it won't necessarily be an easy decision with Walker producing offensively, but both Khaira and Lettieri having the edge in experience.

One would think Khaira and Lettieri (both $775,000) are presumably the frontrunners because they're cheaper, and it wouldn't be beneficial to Walker if he's not going to play often when he can play top minutes and all situations with the Iowa Wild again. Moreover, the Wild can't afford to carry Walker ($855,000) as an extra forward right now.

Walker, 24, looks ready for an extended NHL opportunity, but it likely will have to be put on hold with no roster spots available. In the meantime, he continues to build off what he accomplished last season in Iowa and in the two call-ups with the Wild. Walker scored a hat trick against Chicago in the Tom Kurvers Prospects Showcase a week ago and now has three preseason points after the first game.

Walker tied the game 1-1 with a shot from in front on the power play early in the middle frame Sunday after Colorado went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

A goal wasn't enough for Walker, who scored again about five and half minutes into the third period when Hunter Haight threaded a pass from the left circle to Walker at the doorstep for a 2-1 lead.

Haight and Walker connected on a similar goal at the prospects showcase a week ago alongside Riley Heidt. Sandwiched between the Avalanche's goal that tied the game at two and then a late goal with nine seconds left in the game that cut the Wild's lead to 4-3 was Khaira's go-ahead and Lettieri's game-winning power play markers.

After tipping Alex Goligoski's point shot, Khaira found his own rebound in front and buried it for the 3-2 go-ahead power play goal with 4:57 remaining in the game.

About four minutes later, Walker and Lettieri connected on a 2-on-0 breakaway on the power play. Lettieri's one-timer sealed the deal for a 4-2 Wild lead.

While it's only the first preseason game, the roster hopefuls made a statement by making an impact and finding the scoresheet on Sunday.

The Wild's full roster from the game can be found below:

• The Wild were outshot 43-25 by the Avalanche, but went 50% in the faceoff circle, 3-for-8 on the power play and had an edge in the blocked shots department (22-9). The Avalanche controlled 69.88% of the Corsi share and 70.26% of the five-on-five expected goal share on Sunday, according to Natural Stat Trick.

• Walker finished with three points, and Heidt had two assists. Connor Dewar, Nic Petan, Daemon Hunt, Haight and Goligoski each recorded an assist.

• Calen Addison led the Wild in ice time with 24:49, in front of Jon Merrill (22:22) and Goligoski (21:25). Dewar led Wild forwards with 18:37 in ice time ahead of Heidt (17:31) and Nic Petan (17:13). Dewar also won 14 of 19 faceoff draws (73.68 %) and tied Lettieri with a team-high four shots on goal. 

Jon Merrill (five) and Dakota Mermis (four) led the team in blocked shots. Hunt (87.72), Rasmus Kumpulainen (61.82) and Brandon Duhaime (60.98) led the Wild in expected goals for percentage in all situations.

• Jesper Wallstedt had an impressive and promising showing with 40 saves and a .930 save percentage, making some Grade-A saves throughout the contest. Wallstedt saved 14 of 15 high-danger shots (.933) and saved 0.92 goals above expected, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Wallstedt robbed Colorado's Fredrik Olofsson with a pad save on a Grade-A scoring chance midway through the third period with the game squared at two apiece.

Wallstedt also made a glove save against NHL veteran Tomas Tatar on the penalty kill with five minutes left in the middle frame.

• Avalanche forward and offseason acquisition Tanner Kero hit Hunt up high with an elbow behind the net midway through the second period. No penalty was assessed on the play, and Hunt didn't return to the game.

Monday: 10 a.m. practice at Tria Rink (Open to the public)

Tuesday: Non-game group practice at 9:30 a.m. and game-group practice at 11 a.m. at Tria Rink, with only the latter practice being open to the public. Wild play in Dallas against the Stars at 7 p.m.

Thursday: Non-game group practice at 8:30 a.m. and game-group practice at 10 a.m. at Tria Rink, with only the latter practice being open to the public. Wild play their first preseason game at home against the Avalanche at 7 p.m.

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