Filip Gustavsson has been tremendous this year. He was again despite the Wild's 2-1 loss to Dallas.
ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild (11-3-3) needed Filip Gustavsson to bounce back this season and he certainly has, even in the Wild's 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars (11-5-0) on Saturday.
Gustavsson, 26, made 38 saves in the Wild's loss on Saturday. He kept Minnesota in the game, especially in the first two periods.
The Stars outshot the Wild 26-11 in the first two periods and finished with 40 to the Wild's 23.
"Shots are shots. I mean, look at Grade As. It’s a competitive hockey game," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "So to me, I thought we played a little bit quicker in the third period. I thought we were in the offensive zone more but we got out some things like that more in the offensive zone. But I thought the first two periods, I mean it was a 1-nothing game going into the third period."
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Stars had ten high-danger scoring chances to the Wild's eight. They had 2.31 expected goals to the Wild's 1.96. According to MoneyPuck, the Stars had 2.77 expected goals to the Wild's 2.05.
Nonetheless, it seemed like a pretty even game when it came to chances for each team. The Stars had 12 scoring chances in the first period to the Wild's six. They had five in the third to the Wild's 14.
The Stars scored in the first when they had all their chances and the Wild scored in the third when they had all their chances. The difference was the Stars picked up a goal in the third as well.
"I thought our best period was the third period," Hynes said. "One-nothing game, didn’t get away from it. Pushed it. Better team in the third. They scored one in the first, right? We were the better team in the third. We scored one. Both teams scored a faceoff goal, and then we had looks on the other side. They had looks, and they got one more than us."
Gustavsson helped keep the Wild in the game the first two periods, there is no question about that, but the Stars were able to hang on in the third period despite a late push by the Wild.
"Yeah, I thought both goalies were great," Hynes said. "We didn’t have as many shots but we had some real quality looks. I thought Oettinger played well. Gus looked like he is. When we had breakdowns or big saves, he was excellent. And that’s what you need. Both teams had good goaltending. They got one more than we did tonight."
Last year the Wild went 0-3-0 against the Stars and let up 19 goals in the three games. They only scored five in the three goals and were shut out once.
This game was a better result than last year when the Stars stomped the Wild every game.
"I know last year we got hammered a few times, especially on the power play and that stuff. But a fresh start this year," Gustavsson said on the different result. "Everyone chipped in and we didn’t let them run us over like they sometimes do with goal after goal after goal."
It is nice that the Wild didn't get stomped against Dallas again, and in a game that did not include Joel Eriksson Ek, Mats Zuccarello, and Jonas Brodin, it probably feels a bit better.
"So, yeah, they come into our rink and they steal two points, and we’re not pleased with it," Marcus Foligno said. "But for the most part, lines weren't the same. To come into this game with those two guys out, I give credit to a lot of guys. Milne played great, and Ohg’s, and it’s not easy. I've been in that position before.
"So we’re talking about three huge pieces of our team that are not in the lineup against one of the best teams in the league. So you gotta love a lot of work out there from the guys we had today."
Despite allowing two goals in the loss, Gustavsson now leads the NHL with a 2.08 goals-against average and is tied for first with a .927 save percentage. He has allowed two or fewer goals in 10 starts this season which is the most in the NHL.
It looks like Gustavsson has not only found his game again, but he has elevated it. He has helped the Wild get off to an 11-3-3 start which puts them tied for third in the NHL with the Florida Panthers in points at 25.
"We didn’t get the end result. But like I told our team, I think coming into the year, we know we want to play our best against good teams," Hynes said. "I thought that our structure and discipline were good tonight. I thought we got inside. We got good looks. We didn’t win the game, obviously, but I think looking at, seeing the guys last year in this style of games, this year seeing the Tampas the Floridas, this game, that’s right there."
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