Wild making critical lineup change for Game 2 vs. Avalanche

For the first time in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Filip Gustavsson is going to be between the pipes for the Minnesota Wild.

Rookie Jesper Wallstedt was excellent for the team in their thrilling first-round series win over the Dallas Stars, but the high-flying Colorado Avalanche hung eight goals on him in a 9-6 final in Game 1 of Round 2 at Ball Arena on Sunday night.

And head coach John Hynes is deciding to turn from the rookie to the veteran, he told reporters on Tuesday.

“Every time you make a decision, you take a lot of things into account,” Hynes said after the morning skate in Denver, per NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. “We’ve had two very good goalies all year long and ‘Gus’ has played a lot of good hockey for us.

“Wallstedt has taken the brunt of the playoffs; he’s played seven straight games and played very well. Quick turnaround at the end of the (first) series to come to Colorado.”

Wallstedt is 4-3 with a 2.81 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in this postseason, which is impressive considering the level of talent the Stars boast. They had been to three consecutive Western Conference Finals before bowing out to the Wild in six games in the first round.

Gustavsson was the team’s starter in 2025-26, but ended up conceding more and more starts to Wallstedt as the season went along. The two Swedish netminders both represented their country at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan in February.

“We have confidence in both of our goalies,” Hynes continued. “They’re both excellent, they’ve both played really good hockey. We believe either one of them can win us a game, and I think it’s a good opportunity to get Gus in the net. He’s hungry to get in.

“He dealt with not playing for a while; obviously Wally played very well, our team won and continued to go through, but we have another excellent goalie who’s hungry to get back into the net.”

Gustavsson managed a 28-15-6 record in 2025-26, along with a 2.69 GAA and .904 SV% over 49 starts.

He hasn’t started since April 13, and will be thrown right into the fire against an Avalanche team that is averaging 4.40 goals per game in the playoffs, the best mark in the NHL. The Wild are second at 4.14.

Puck is set to drop on Game 2 from Ball Arena in Colorado just past 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday.

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