Wallstedt 'more prepared' for Wild in Game 3 win against Avalanche

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Four nights ago in Denver, Jesper Wallstedt was sitting on the end of the visitors bench, his hat on his head, watching Game 2 of the Western Conference Second Round.

Only Wallstedt, the Minnesota Wild's 23-year-old goalie, didn't look at it as a benching even though he allowed eight goals on 42 shots in Game 1 and coach John Hynes turned to Filip Gustavsson to start Game 2.

Wallstedt instead looked at being the backup as an opportunity to refocus his mind so he could dive into some details of his game that he knew needed attention, doing what he could to make sure when the next start came he would be ready.

It came Saturday, and he was.

Wallstedt made 35 saves in a 5-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 at Grand Casino Arena, doing his part to help the Wild cut their deficit in the best-of-7 series to 2-1 before Game 4 on Monday.

"It's very easy when you just play, play, play, and you don't practice much," Wallstedt said. "You get out there in morning skate just to get to feel some pucks, but you're never really working on details. And I think there was some stuff I had to look at, and some stuff I could improve on, and I felt like those days gave me that."

Wallstedt had to come up big early, stopping Parker Kelly on a breakaway 11 minutes into the first period, 4:11 before Kirill Kaprizov staked the Wild to a 1-0 lead with a 4-on-4 goal.

He had nine saves in the first period and 12 on 13 shots in the second, the Wild entering the third with a 4-1 lead.

Wallstedt closed it out with 14 saves in the final 20 minutes, looking very much like the same goalie who was so good against the Dallas Stars in the first round, when he had a 2.05 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in six games.

"I just thought he got right back to his game tonight," Hynes said. "He's proven throughout the playoffs the moments don't get too big for him. He's very consistent. He's solid and it was good to see him perform the way he did tonight."

Wallstedt wasn't surprised when Hynes turned to Gustavsson for Game 2.

He didn't feel much emotion at all, in fact.

"Well, I've not started games before," he said. "So, it's nothing new."

He didn't think at all about this being the first time he had the net taken away from him in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"It's also my first time in the playoffs," Wallstedt said. "So, you got to experience everything."

Part of the experience, then?

"Obviously, I want to play every game," Wallstedt said. "I think everyone knows that. I think everyone knows that 'Gus' wants to play every game too. That's how we all work, competitors, but sometimes you just have to look at it from another perspective. Obviously, I got some extra time to look over some of my stuff and go through some stuff I had to improve."

It helped, of course, that the Wild played a more detailed game in front of him, limiting the Avalanche's rush game, controlling the puck in the offensive zone, and defending well in the defensive zone.

It wasn't the track meet that Wallstedt was victim to in Game 1.

"Our details in our D-zone today were massive," Wallstedt said. "We were boxing out. We were taking sticks. We had a lot of unreal blocks, and all of them are difference-makers. And that set us up as well to play more offense."

Wallstedt didn't allude to any more satisfaction in his performance tonight because he only gave up the one goal to Nathan MacKinnon on the power play and made 35 saves.

"That's my job," he said. "That's what I'm supposed to do. My job description is pretty easy, stop the puck. That’s what I'm trying to do."

He didn't do that in Game 1, so he watched Game 2, all the while preparing himself to be better when the next chance came.

That was Saturday. Wallstedt was ready for it.

"You try to separate what was good, what you have to improve on and what was bad, and what stuff you have to adjust playing this opponent," Wallstedt said. "I think I did that well and was more prepared for today's game."