Wild's playoff starting goalie remains a mystery as coach Hynes tightens lips, leaving fans guessing between young prodigy and struggling veteran.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild (46-24-12) have spent the past six months building toward this moment.
Minnesota will hop on the plane soon and head south to face the Dallas Stars (50-20-12), where they will play Game 1 at 4:30 Central time.
There were two big questions heading into this series.
On Thursday, for the Wild's first practice, we seemed to have firgured out the first question.
Based on line rushes, it looks like Bobby Brink will be the odd man out for Game 1. Danila Yurov, Yakov Trenin and Vladimir Tarasenko made up the third line.
Nick Foligno, Michael McCarron and Marcus Foligno was the Wild's fourth line.
As for the second question?
Wild head coach John Hynes doubled down on Thursday and did not answer the question. First on the radio, hours before they practiced, and a second time after practice to the media.
On the radio, Hynes was asked about Wallstedt's track record against Dallas.
The rookie netminder finished the season with an 18-9-6 record, a 2.61 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
His wins and four shutouts are the most in a single season in Wild history for a rookie. His .915 save percentage is tied for first as well.
In his final 10 games, Wallstedt went 4-3-2 with a 1.98 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.
"I want to just give them as good of a chance to win every game," Wallstedt said. "So I really like where I’m at.”
The flip side?
Filip Gustavsson allowed four or more goals in five of his final six starts and went 2-4-0 with a 4.25 goals-against average and .836 save percentage.
“We’ll see what happens,” Wallstedt said about the possibility of starting Game 1. “I think I’ve played some really good hockey down the stretch now. I think the last 10, 11, 12 games have been really solid. Even though I haven’t won all of them. I think my game is in a great position. I’m very confident in where I’m at and I feel like I keep our team in games sometimes."
Wallstedt, 23, has never played in a playoff game in his pro career. He has played the Stars once in his career and it happened to be his NHL debut two years ago in Dallas.
He allowed seven goals in the 7-2 loss.
Hynes was asked about it and made a good point. That was two years ago. Wallstedt is better now, and the team is much better.
In fact, in that game, the Wild did not have Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon.
So, does Hynes expect both goalies to play in the series?
“I guess I’ll leave it as this: I feel like both goalies have been excellent for us all year long. Both guys can play. Our team feels comfortable in front of both guys I feel putting both guys in. So, I think we’ll just take it day by day and we’ll make the decision, we’ll go to Game 1 together as a team, and then we’ll see how that goes. But as far as the goalies, there’s a reason why they basically play well. Look at their track records against playoff teams, top teams; they both have winning records. They’re both good. They both can play. So, I think that’s a good decision to have to make.”
Flashback?
Marc-Andre Fleury congratulates Cam Talbot on a win. Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.This situation reminds Wild fans of the 2022 Playoffs with Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Talbot.
Talbot played outstanding down the stretch heading into the playoffs. Talbot had not lost in regulation in his last 17 games heading into the playoffs. He was 13-0-3 with a .917 save percentage and a 2.35 goals-against average.
Despite that, the Wild opted for the veteran and more playoff-experienced goaltender in Fleury in the playoffs.
Minnesota lost in six.
Do you go with the veteran with playoff experience, or do you ride the hot hand, which is something the Wild didn't do in 2022 and lost?
"You can argue both sides, right? This is what I would say," Hynes said on the decision. "We have two excellent goaltenders. We've had two excellent goaltenders all year long. We've basically rotated them. I think regarding Wally, if it's Wally, you're going to say, 'Well, if you have experience, it's valuable and if you don't it doesn't matter, right?' What we do know is Wally is a strong goalie. He's played really well. He's come a long ways in his development. He's played excellent. He's a top end NHL goalie. Both players.
"You know Gus has got great experience, great goalie, he's been a backbone for us. He's been the leader of the goaltending core between the two of those guys. You can't go wrong with the decision. It's just [that] eventually we will make the decision and let the guys know what it's going to be. But we feel comfortable that no matter who we play, he's going to give us a great game."
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