Wild injury situation puts extra pressure on goalie Filip Gustavsson

While not as impressive as draining a 164-foot empty-netter for the first goalie goal in Wild history, the first assist of the season for Filip Gustavsson is a worthy addition to his budding offensive career.

His outlet pass, from the side of his net all the way to a wide-open Joel Eriksson Ek at the Nashville blue line, was the beginning of a slump-busting sequence for the middling Wild power play, with Eriksson Ek parlaying the puck to a crease-crashing Mats Zuccarello for a slam-dunk redirect.

“Saw Ekky up there, and [the Predators] were tired and changing and just tried to hit him,” Gustavsson said. “Him and Zuccy [are] some very good players, so they finish it off.”

That was the first of three goals for the power play, which ignited the Wild to a 5-3 victory Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center, and considering this breakout ended an 0-for-15 dry spell, perhaps the Wild have discovered a new play to work into their plan.

“He’s good with the puck,” center Marco Rossi said, “So, why not?”

As impactful as Gustavsson has been with his stickwork — his goal Oct. 15 in a 4-1 victory at St. Louis is still the only one by an NHL goaltender this season and his two points are more than 142 skaters who have logged at least one game — he’s most valuable to the Wild between the pipes, especially now.

Captain Jared Spurgeon is the latest to get hurt, the defenseman leaving early in the second period after getting slew-footed by Nashville’s Zachary L’Heureux and crashing at high speed feet first into the boards. Spurgeon, whose right leg bent awkwardly during the collision, was helped off the ice and exited with his right skate lifted.

L’Heureux was given a match penalty and will have a hearing with the NHL department of player safety. There was no early update Thursday on Spurgeon’s condition.

Leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov, top-pairing defenseman Jake Middleton and depth winger Jakub Lauko are also on the mend, with Kaprizov joining Middleton and Lauko on injured reserve, and none of the Wild’s injured players traveled for the road trip that starts Thursday at Washington.

These absences make stingy goaltending even more important, and Gustavsson’s bounce-back season has proved he can provide that for the Wild.

“He’s a rock back there, for sure, for our team,” defenseman Declan Chisholm said.

If the power play was the spark for the Wild’s win over Nashville, Gustavsson flipped the switch — and not just because of his assist, his third as an NHLer.

Without his season-high 43 saves, those three tallies wouldn’t have mattered. He was particularly clutch late, snuffing out the last 19 shots he faced to shut out the Predators in the third period and deny them a comeback.

“A couple outrageous saves,” Chisholm pointed out. “Rebounds, he’s diving, making the third save, fourth save, and he kept us in it all night.”

BOXSCORE: Wild 5, Nashville 3

NHL standings

Gustavsson’s busiest game bolstered his status among league leaders: His 17 victories are tied for third in the NHL, while his .924 save percentage is third and 2.28 goals-against average fourth.

This was his seventh career win with 40 saves or more, which passed Devan Dubnyk for second in Wild history, and Gustavsson’s next victory will match Josh Harding for fifth in franchise history at 60.

In only his third Wild season, Gustavsson is making his mark in the record book, but what makes his current surge impressive is that he’s rebounded from last season’s dip.

After finishing as the second-best statistical goalie in the NHL during his Wild debut following a 2022 offseason trade from Ottawa for fellow netminder Cam Talbot, Gustavsson struggled in 2023-24; not only did he win fewer games, but his save percentage (.899) and goals-against average (3.06) were eyesores. Combine this setback with the emergence of rookie Jesper Wallstedt, and Gustavsson’s order on the Wild depth chart alongside Wallstedt and veteran Marc-Andre Fleury was unclear at the start of training camp.

But Gustavsson, who’s halfway through a three-year, $11.25 million contract, secured the No. 1 job after a superb start, and he’s remained among the most proficient at the position — consistency that could land the 26-year-old in the Vezina Trophy conversation as the NHL’s top goalie. He’ll represent Sweden at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

“He’s back to being who he is,” coach John Hynes said. “He goes about his business the way that he does and to his personality and to his skill set. I think he practices well. He’s prepared, and he’s giving himself the opportunity with a good summer and a reset to come back.”

What Hynes has noticed about Gustavsson’s play this season is his competitiveness, which Gustavsson shows in how quickly and effectively he resets to make multiple saves in succession.

“He’s big. He’s present. He’s strong,” Hynes said, “and that’s why he’s playing so well for us.”

Whether they’re healthy or not, the Wild need quality goaltending to execute the style they want: The less they defend, the more they can play offense.

But when they’re not at full strength, keeping pucks out of their net becomes paramount to their success.

“That’s why we sign up to be goalies,” Gustavsson said.

Based on his results so far, Gustavsson is suited for the responsibility.

“You take pride in doing it,” he said, “and it’s fun when it works out.”

Today, 6 p.m., Capital One Arena

TV; radio: FanDuel Sports Network North; 100.3 FM

Wild update: The Wild recalled F Brendan Gaunce and D Carson Lambos from the minors. This is the first time Lambos, who will wear No. 71, has been called up, although he will not play tonight. Drafted in the first round (26th overall) in 2021, Lambos has played parts of two seasons with Iowa in the American Hockey League. He has two goals and three assists in 27 games. Gaunce, who has appeared in four games with the Wild, had a hat trick in his last game with Iowa on Tuesday night. Marc-Andre Fleury will be the starting goalie.

Capitals update: Washington wrapped up 2024 with a 3-1 win over Boston on Tuesday to continue its success at home where the Capitals are 12-4-2. LW Alex Ovechkin recently resumed his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record after missing 16 games because of a fracture fibula. In his second game back, Ovechkin scored his 870th goal and is 25 away from surpassing Gretzky. Overall, Ovechkin is up to 17 goals. He started the season needing 42 goals to pass Gretzky, a benchmark Ovechkin has hit in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons. Lakeville’s Charlie Lindgren starts in goal tonight.

Injuries: Wild W Kirill Kaprizov (lower body), W Jakub Lauko (lower body), D Jake Middleton (upper body) and D Jared Spurgeon (lower body) are out. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom (hip), LW Sonny Milano (upper body) and RW T.J. Oshie (back) are out.