By Aaron Heckmann -
The Minnesota Wild need this version of Filip Gustavsson to reach their full potential and make a playoff run this season.
The 26-year-old Swede is off to a better-than-anticipated start this season, posting a .948 save percentage and 1.66 goals against average through three starts. Gustavsson is 2-0-1 and is playing like the confident and composed netminder he showed flashes of during his first season in Minnesota in 2022-23.
That was evident in the first week of the season, and it rang true again on Tuesday night. Gustavsson stopped 27 of 28 shots (a .964 save percentage) to help the Wild top the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on the road to improve to 2-0-2. Gustavsson again looked sharp, stopping 1.92 goals above expected in all situations and making five high-danger saves, according to Natural Stat Trick.
One of Gustavsson’s best saves of the night came on the penalty kill midway through the second period when he managed to make an impressive stick save on two-time 30-goal scorer Jordan Kyrou’s one-timer from the bottom of the left circle off a cross-slot pass.
But the highlight of Gustavsson’s performance Tuesday night and the epitome of his encouraging start to his third season in Minnesota wasn’t a save – it was a goal.
After making a routine stop on Pavel Buchnevich’s slap shot from outside the blue line, Gustavsson took a shot at the empty net and buried it.
Gustavsson became the first goalie in Wild history to score a goal and the 15th goalie in NHL history. Evgeni Nabokov and Martin Brodeur are the only other goalies in NHL history who have previously recorded a power play goal. The last goalie to score was the Penguins’ Tristian Jarry on Nov. 30, 2023.
Gustavsson had a reward in mind for his goal.
“I should be in on the power play meeting now,” Gustavsson quipped in a postgame interview with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.
Right now, Gustavsson is ahead of some elite company — such as Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Alex Ovechkin — in the goals department.
Once again, Gustavsson gave the Wild a chance to win the game. And the lone goal he allowed came after the Wild carelessly turned the puck over in their own zone, which led to Mathieu Joseph beating Gustavsson blocker side from below the right faceoff dot with 9:50 remaining in the contest.
Minnesota’s opponents have tested Gustavsson, and he must stay sharp and build off of this early success.
In addition to his .948 SV%, Gustavsson has saved 3.5 goals above expected in all situations through three starts, according to MoneyPuck, which ranks sixth among goalies with two or more starts. According to Natural Stat Trick, he has also saved all 16 high-danger shots he’s faced. Furthermore, Gustavsson has only allowed two five-on-five markers and five goals overall.
Gustavsson has been a crucial factor behind the Wild’s strong start, where they grabbed six of a possible eight points in the first four games. And Gustavsson’s goal in St. Louis perfectly represented his confidence and strong start.
The Wild need this version of Gustavsson. The same one that broke out in the 2022-23 season after getting traded from the Ottawa Senators to Minnesota. That year, Gustavsson went 22-9-7 and finished with a .931 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average (both ranked second in the NHL). According to Natural Stat Trick, he saved 18.8 goals above expected in all situations that year.
After this season, Gustavsson has one more year left on his contract at $3.75 million. He played like he could become a bonafide No.1 goalie in his first season with Minnesota. However, he struggled in Year 2 with the Wild, finishing with a .899 save percentage and allowing 11.44 goals above expected in all situations, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Gustavsson wasn’t good enough, and the Wild couldn’t depend on him like they did the previous year. As a result, they ended up re-signing Marc-Andre Fleury for a one-year extension.
According to The Athletic, the Wild tried to move Gustavsson this summer. However, their efforts to trade him were unsuccessful. That looks like it could be for the best, even though they must carry three goalies this year. Highly coveted goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt needs more NHL action ahead of his first full NHL season in 2025-26.
It will be a great story if Gustavsson continues to build on his early success this season. He has turned things around and can be a difference-maker. The idea of sharing the net with Fleury and Wallstedt may have motivated Gustavsson.
Regardless, Gustavsson is playing like a goalie who doesn’t want to leave the crease. And if this trend continues, the Wild will have to give him most of the starts, limiting Fleury and Wallstedt’s usage.
The Wild have seen Gustavsson at his best and his worst. Now, he has an opportunity to prove he can be the No.1 goalie he showed flashes of in 2022-23 — not the widely inconsistent goalie who struggled last year.
If Gustavsson continues his early success, it would relieve the team's uncertainty about which version of him they will get each game and alleviate any concerns about the current goalie situation.
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