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MN Wild Rookie Takes Over NHL Lead Amidst Hot Streak
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- MN Wild Rookie Takes Over NHL Lead Amidst Hot Streak
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Last season the Minnesota Wild got to experience the final year of Marc-Andre Fleury's Hall of Fame career . The three-time Stanley Cup winner paired with Filip Gustvasson as netminders for a 45-30-7 team .
This season the goalie position was a point of concern for Wild fans. Although Gustavsson earned a long-term extension , unproven rookie Jesper Wallstedt was set to back him up.
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The team got out to an ugly start, but both goalies are now rolling, and it's the rookie backup that has taken over the NHL lead.
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Jesper Wallstedt serves up another shutout for Wild
Through their first 12 games of the season the Minnesota Wild were just 3-6-3 . Now 12-7-4 after a shutout road win against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, they are among the hottest teams in the league. A significant reason for that is rookie Jesper Wallstedt and his league-leading three shutouts .
ANOTHER SHUTOUT FOR WALLSTEDT 🙅♂️
Jesper Wallstedt collects his third @pepsi shutout in his last four games! pic.twitter.com/mexPM4ty66— NHL (@NHL) November 23, 2025
Only five goalies have at least two shutouts this season. Among them is Wallstedt's teammate Gustavsson. The other three are Sergei Bobrovsky , Ilya Sorokin , and Joey Daccord . With just 13 games under his belt 30.7% of his starts have resulted in shutout victories.
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Wallstedt's .935 save percentage trails only Jonathan Quick amongst qualified goalies, and with a 6-0-2 record, he has yet to lose in regulation. To say that this is an ideal start to his rookie season would be putting things lightly.
The Minnesota Wild have made a habit of first-round playoff exits. In order to avoid that same fate, they will be relying on the development of key young players. Wallstedt is among the most important of that considering the way a hot goalie can carry a team to a Stanley Cup.
If this is the sort of goaltending the Wild are going to get from their tandem this season, then it shouldn't be difficult for them to sustain hot streaks. Kirill Kaprizov is doing his thing offensively , and now he's got a young netminder stepping up on the back end too.
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