Jesper Wallstedt delivered stellar saves under playoff pressure, proving coach Hynes' bold choice right and stealing Game 1 for the Wild.
Minnesota Wild (1-0) head coach John Hynes didn’t go safe. He went with the guy who’s been stopping pucks.
Jesper Wallstedt got the net in Game 1, and he backed it up against the Dallas Stars (0-1).
The 23-year-old turned aside 27 of 28 shots in his first NHL playoff start, holding things together when Dallas started to push.
“I was definitely nervous,” Wallstedt said. “It just shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There’s definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra when we were rolling in for the game here, but as soon as the national anthem is over, the first couple of pucks starts coming, you start to get used to it.”
Didn’t look like a guy rattled.
There were stretches where the Wild needed a save, not just a routine one, but one to stop momentum and he gave it to them.
“He’s a very confident kid,” Hynes said. “He’s a very confident goaltender, and I think the way that he’s playing and the way that he was playing coming into tonight, he’s made those types of saves, and I think it was a big moment. There’s going to be times throughout this series where you’re going to need — there’s going to be a breakdown, there’s going to be a mistake or there’s going to be a great play made by a great player on their team — where you’re going to need a big time save at a key time, and we got that tonight.”
That’s really what this came down to. Hynes didn’t pick Wallstedt on projection. He picked him on what he’s been doing.
In his last five games, Wallstedt is 4-1-0 with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage. He is 5-3-1 in his last ten games (nine starts) with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.
More importantly, the Wild aren’t chasing when he’s in net. They poured it on and won 6-1.
Game 1 didn’t change anything. It just confirmed that Wallstedt should continue to start until he proves otherwise.
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