Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt’s devastated reaction to Game 5 Avalanche collapse

The atmosphere at Ball Arena was a frenzy as the Colorado Avalanche eliminated the Minnesota Wild from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 5, goalie Jesper Wallstedt discussed the collapse, including the game-winning goal, and what it felt like, according to Ryan Boulding’s recap on NHL.com.

“Obviously, that one hurts a lot. I haven’t looked at it, but it felt like I was in good position. It felt like I had the right read. Maybe I was a little passive or went down a little quick, but also he picked his corner, and I think in the long run, that’s a save I make most of the time, but not today. Today, he scored. That one definitely hurt a lot to me,” Wallstedt told NHL.com.

Despite trailing 3-0 after one period, the Avalanche rallied back, chipping away at the lead. The Wild acquired Quinn Hughes earlier this season to get that final piece, but that was not enough to overcome Colorado. Additionally, the Avalanche shut down Mats Zuccarello in this game, and also held Kirill Kaprizov off the scoresheet.

The Avalanche trailed 3-1 with four minutes left in regulation. But they cut it to 3-2 when Jack Drury scored at 16:27 of the third period. Finally, Nathan MacKinnon slapped a shot that went top shelf past Wallstedt at 18:37 of the third period to force overtime. This then led to Martin Necas wrapping the puck around the net before finding Brett Kulak for the game-winning goal in overtime.

The Avalanche were in a position to finish this series because they held a 3-1 series lead, including a major Game 4 win in St. Paul. Now, they await the winner of the Anaheim Ducks-Vegas Golden Knights, while the Wild ponder what went wrong.

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