The Wild will be welcoming back their starting goalie for Saturday night’s game against Minnesota as the team announced that Filip Gustavsson has been activated off injured reserve. To make room for him on the roster, Jesper Wallstedt has been returned to AHL Iowa.
Gustavsson has been dealing with a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for the last two weeks. Before that, he had struggled somewhat relative to last year’s breakout performance. While his .903 save percentage is above the league average, it’s a steep drop from the .931 mark he posted in 2022-23. With Marc-Andre Fleury also struggling as of late having only recorded a save percentage above .900 in one of his last six starts, Gustavsson will likely get a chance to play significant minutes fairly quickly as Minnesota looks to keep within striking distance of a wild-card spot.
As for Wallstedt, Minnesota’s top goalie prospect got a rough introduction to the NHL earlier this week, allowing seven goals on 34 shots to Dallas on Wednesday. However, the 2021 first-rounder has fared quite well with Iowa this season, posting a 2.54 goals-against average and a .917 SV% in 20 games with them. With Fleury’s contract up at the end of the season, Wallstedt could become the full-time backup in Minnesota before long so getting him back in the minors to maximize his playing time is certainly ideal.
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