The Minnesota Wild (12-7-4) has won five straight games and is 9-1-1 in its last 11 games. The Wild have scored the first goal in 12 consecutive games as well. But nothing during this stretch has been better than the goaltending believe it or not.

Since Nov. 1, Jesper Wallstedt is 5-0-0 with a .970 save percentage, an 0.99 goals-against average and has three shutouts. Filip Gustavsson is 4-1-1 in that stretch with a .921 save percentage, a 1.95 goals-against average and has one shutout.

The Wild have now posted shutouts in two consecutive games and have three in their last five games and four in their last seven.

Wallstedt and Gustavsson have kept the Wild from trailing in regulation for 480 straight minutes since Nov. 7. The goaltending tandem has now became the first team with a run of that length since the Vancouver Canucks from Jan. 8-24, 2024 (488:43).

Wallstedt, 23, has played in eight games this year. He has yet to lose in regulation and has given the Wild a point in all eight games with a 6-0-2 record. He is first in the NHL in save percentage (.935), goals-against average (1.94) and shutouts (3).

"He is playing like a wall right now,” Wild defenseman Brock Faber said after the game on Sunday. “It’s fun to watch and it gives us all confidence. You can tell that he’s just gaining confidence as every day goes by, it’s so great to see. It took time for him to get here. He worked and battled and went through adversity and ups and downs, and to see him playing the way he can play, it’s incredible and we just need to keep it rolling, him and [Gustavsson].”

Over his eight-game point streak, Wallstedt has earned shutouts against the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners (Jets), current Pacific Division leader (Ducks) and a team that fell outside the playoff line due to a tiebreaker in 2024-25 (Flames).

Four of Wallstedt’s six wins this season have also come against teams currently in a playoff position, with the Minnesota goaltender having only allowed a combined eight goals through those contests.

Per NHL Stats, Wallstedt is the only goaltender to play at least eight games this season and have no regulation losses. He set the franchise benchmark for longest season-opening point streak, besting Niklas Backstrom (6-0-1 in 2008-09) and became the third rookie netminder League-wide with a run of that length in the past 30 years, following Mike Condon (8 GP in 2015-16) and Martin Jones (8 GP in 2013-14).

He also became the second rookie goaltender in the NHL's Expansion Era, since 1967-68, to post three shutouts through his first eight games of a season, joining Jones (3 in 6 GP in 2013-14).

“I have a great team in front of me,” Wallstedt said postgame. “The way our team has sacrificed themselves, I feel like we’re one of the teams that blocks the most shots. We try to get in front of every puck. They take away sticks and everything and boxing out, so I can focus on my job. I feel like pucks have been getting stuck in me. Hopefully I show some calmness back there, that I can show that they can trust me.”

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