Veteran Filip Gustavsson gets the Game 2 net for Wild

DENVER — Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt had a nightmare of a Sunday evening in the 9-6 Game 1 loss to Colorado, but head coach John Hynes sounded like the decision to bring in veteran Filip Gustavsson for Game 2 was more about calculation than concern.

“We’ve had two very good goalies all year long, and Gus has played a lot of good hockey for us,” Hynes said during the team’s optional, and well-attended, morning skate Tuesday at Ball Arena. “Wally’s taken the brunt of the playoffs; he has played seven straight games, played very well, quick turnaround at the end of the series to come to Colorado.

“We have confidence in both of our goalies. 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.”

Gustavsson, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract extension at the start of the 2025-26 season, has been a good soldier through Round 1 as Wallstedt went 4-2 versus Dallas and the Wild advanced to the second round for the first time in 11 years.

“He’s hungry to get in,” Hynes said. “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.”

Wallstedt was tagged for eight of Colorado’s nine goals in the Game 1 loss, and the Avalanche suggested they had exploited some of the things they saw while studying video of the Swedish rookie. Gustavsson last played on April 13, when he allowed five goals in a 6-3 loss in St. Louis.

In choosing Wallstedt to start the playoffs, Hynes went with the hotter goalie. But the coach said Gustavsson has been great with handling the temporary demotion to second string and continued to serve as a mentor to Wallstedt.

“He’s a great teammate, No. 1, like all the guys on our team right now. They’re in it to win it. They’ll sacrifice whatever they have to do to help the team win,” Hynes said. “In his situation, (he has been) very supportive of the decision, very supportive of Wally. But the thing I liked about it, too, (is) he didn’t just concede it, either. He wants to play. He wants to get in the net. He was working for it. He’s making sure he was prepared to do it.”