Jonas Wallstedt to start Game 3 as Avalanche chase a sweep
- Minnesota is expected to turn back to Jesper Wallstedt for Game 3 on Saturday, with the Wild down 2-0 and trying to stop Colorado fast. - The switch matters because Wallstedt started the first seven playoff games, but Filip Gustavsson gave up 4 goals in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss. - Colorado is 6-0 this postseason, so one more win would push Minnesota to the edge of elimination.
The story here is goaltending — and pressure. Minnesota heads into Game 3 against Colorado needing a real jolt, and the expected move is to put Jesper Wallstedt back in net after one game of trying Filip Gustavsson. That’s the kind of decision that tells you where the series is. The Wild are not tinkering. They’re trying to stop a team that has looked sharper, deeper, and way more settled through two games. Colorado won Game 1 in chaos and Game 2 with control, which is a scary combination for Minnesota. (sportsnet.ca) ### Why is Wallstedt back in the middle of this? Because Minnesota already tried the other option. Wallstedt opened the playoffs as the Wild’s guy and started the first seven postseason games, but he got shelled for 8 goals on 42 shots in Colorado’s 9-6 Game 1 wi(sportsnet.ca)als, and Colorado won 5-2. (sportsnet.ca) ### Was Wallstedt actually bad before this series? Not really — and that’s why this isn’t a panic move so much as a circle-back move. Wallstedt outplayed Gustavsson in the regular season, finishing with a.916 save percentage to Gustavsson’s.904, and he helped Min(sportsnet.ca)Colorado this season — a 2.55 goals-against average and.932 save percentage in three starts. Basically, the Wild still have reason to believe the rookie can give them a better game than the Game 1 score suggests. (sportsnet.ca) ### So what changed in Game 2? Colorado looked a lot more like itself. Game 1 was a track meet — 15 combined goals, broken structure everywhere, total playoff weirdness. Game 2 was cleaner. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, the Avalanche got out in front (sportsnet.ca)ky shootout. It also won the more normal version of the game. (espn.com) ### Why does the goalie choice matter so much now? Because 2-0 in a series is one thing. Falling behind 3-0 is basically the cliff. Minnesota doesn’t need Wallstedt to steal the series in one night, but it probably does need him to settle the first 10 minutes, kill Colorado’s early surge, and let the Wild play from even footing for(espn.com)ency brake — sometimes it steadies everything, sometimes it means the car was already sliding. (nhl.com) ### What’s helping Colorado right now? The Avalanche have answers everywhere. MacKinnon is driving play, Cale Makar is healthy enough to swing games again, and Colorado’s depth has shown up too. The team is also still unbeaten this postseason at 6-0. That’s the bigger issue for Minnesota —(nhl.com)ed. (espn.com) ### Is there anything working for Minnesota? Yes — mostly that the series is finally shifting to St. Paul. The Wild also had a little extra time to regroup, and they still have top-end talent like Kirill Kaprizov, who has been one of their main offensive drivers in the playoffs. But the injuries matter, too. Minnesota has been deal(espn.com)which makes the margin thinner against a Colorado team playing this well. (nhl.com) ### Bottom line Minnesota’s expected return to Wallstedt is a bet on upside and a bet on memory — that the goalie from the first round is still in there somewhere. But the bigger truth is simpler. Colorado has controlled the series, and if Wallstedt doesn’t give the Wild a stabilizing night in Game 3, the sweep talk gets very real. (nhl.com)
