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Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt gets brutally honest on play in Game 5 despite win
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- Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt gets brutally honest on play in Game 5 despite win
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The Minnesota Wild had only been up 3-2 in a first-round series once in franchise history, but they’ve doubled that number in 2026 after beating the Dallas Stars 4-2 in Game 5 at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.
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They’ll now have a chance to close out the series in the State of Hockey on Thursday, and advance to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
Jesper Wallstedt has been a key reason for the team’s postseason success, getting the nod in Game 1 and not looking back. He was great in Game 5, making 20 saves on 22 shots — but he thinks he could have been better.
“I didn’t think myself, I didn’t think I was that good the first two periods,” the Swede told reporters afterwards, per NHL.com’s Taylor Baird.
“I felt like I was scrambling a little bit. I was overplaying rebounds. And (we) were a little bit all over the place, but the way our team play was so good that they didn’t even have the chance to challenge me that much. I felt like 5-on-5, and then getting into the third, I felt really good again, and obviously they started to put some more pucks to the net, and felt like I got into the game a little better.”
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Regardless of how Wallstedt felt, he got the job done, only allowing a powerplay goal in the first period and a 5-on-5 tally in the waning minutes of regulation.
Overall, he’s managed a 2.05 goals-against average and .926 save percentage in five games against the Stars, and he’s been outduelling Jake Oettinger in Dallas’ crease.
Head coach John Hynes was happy with what he saw on the road in Game 5, from the goaltender outwards.
“I think when we play a tight, connected, five-man unit, we’re usually at our best,” he said. “I thought we were responsible, strong attention to detail, got some key saves when we needed them. Another game where we can continue to build and get better.”
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The victory sets up one of the biggest playoff games in Wild franchise history on Thursday. It’s a chance to close out a team that has been to back-to-back Western Conference Finals, and on home ice no less.
Puck drops on what should be another terrific tilt between the Central Division behemoths just past 7:30 p.m. ET.
Related: John Hynes’ immediate reaction to Wild’s Game 5 win vs. Stars
Related: Wild could have 2 critical reinforcements for Game 5 vs. Stars
