jesper wallstedt stopped 43 of 45 shots and Minnesota beat Dallas 3-2 in overtime in Game 4 on Saturday. The Wild tied the Western Conference first-round series 2-2 and head to Game 5 with their rookie goalie carrying the load.
Wallstedt's Game 4 Turn
Matt Boldy's overtime winner finished the job after Wallstedt held Dallas to two goals on 45 shots. When the puck went in, he said, "We were all just screaming" and later added, "So much joy."
The save total was not an outlier for him in this series. Through four playoff games, Wallstedt has stopped 130 of 140 shots, a run that has produced a 2.06 goals-against average and a.929 save percentage.
Read Also: Brock Faber Sparks Minnesota Wild With Three Goals in Four Games
John Hynes' Call
Wallstedt entered these playoffs after John Hynes told him two nights before the start that he would begin Game 1. He then won his first NHL postseason start and has stayed in the net through the opening four games.
That path came after a regular season in which he went 18-9-6 with four shutouts, a 2.61 GAA and a.916 save percentage. Drafted in the first round in 2021, he was still hearing his name in trade rumors at the deadline while Minnesota had already given Filip Gustavsson the starter's money in September with a five-year, $34 million extension.
Foligno and Faber
Marcus Foligno said Wallstedt has the attitude of a stud goalie and called him the future of the team. Brock Faber put it even more simply: "He wants to be on the ice in the biggest games."
Wallstedt said before Game 4, "I don't know if it's the right time to look back at it, but everything this year has been unexpected," then added, "Obviously, I've known what I'm capable of and I know what potential I've had" and "But at the same time, I knew I could be there." He answered that call against Dallas, and Minnesota now has a 2-2 series entering Game 5 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tuesday.
