Wallstedt starts, Eriksson Ek out for Wild in Game 3 against Avalanche

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Jesper Wallstedt will start in goal for the Minnesota Wild in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Colorado Avalanche at Grand Casino Arena on Saturday.

Center Joel Eriksson Ek will miss his third straight game, and defenseman Jonas Brodin his fourth, each with a lower-body injury.

The Avalanche lead the best-of-7 series 2-0 and are 6-0 in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Wallstedt, a 23-year-old rookie, started Minnesota's first seven games this postseason, including Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday, when he allowed eight goals on 42 shots in a 9-6 loss.

The Wild turned to Filip Gustavsson for Game 2 on Tuesday, but he allowed four goals on 22 shots in a 5-2 loss.

"That was the plan," Wild coach John Hynes said. "(Wallstedt) was a little bit tired, had the game, 'Gus' is there, Gus came in, he got his opportunity to play, 'Wally' got some rest, recovery and he's ready to go. It wasn't anything that was earth shattering from our standpoint other than trying to do what's right for the goalies, try to do what's right for the team and he gets back in the net tonight."

Wallstedt had a strong first round with a 2.05 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in six games against the Dallas Stars, helping the Wild advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. He went 2-1 with a 2.08 GAA and .923 save percentage in three home games including a 21-save performance in the series-clinching 5-2 win in Game 6 on April 30.

That came after he was 4-3-2 with a 1.98 GAA and .930 save percentage in 10 games (nine starts) from March 8 through the end of the regular season, but he never started more than two games in a row and then started seven straight in a span of 16 days to begin the playoffs.

"Wally played a lot of hockey," Hynes said. "That was a quick turnaround (from the first to the second round). A young guy that went through that, won the first series and then we go in there -- we went with him in Game 1, it didn't go our way as a team. Then you have discussions with the player, the players, your staff, your trainers, your strength coaches. You don't take these decisions lightly, but what you do, like you do in any decision, is you gather the facts and you gather the right information from the right people and then you make a decision on what you think. And you collectively think is the best thing to do, and that's what we did."

Eriksson Ek and Brodin each remain day to day, though Eriksson Ek appears closer to returning from the injury sustained when he lost an edge and crashed leg first into the boards early in the third period of Game 6 against the Stars. He skated Friday for the first time since Game 6, participating in the early part of Minnesota's practice, but was not on the ice for the full team morning skate Saturday.

"The plan was to skate yesterday and then see what it was, and if he was going to be ready for the game tonight it probably wouldn't be two skates," Hynes said. "So, either way we were going to have him skate yesterday and just play tonight. The fact that he's not going to play tonight, we have another day tomorrow."

Brodin has been out since blocking a shot with his foot in Game 5 of the first round and has not resumed skating.