The goaltending picture is front and center when the Minnesota Wild visit the Calgary Flames on Thursday night, and both teams are leaning on a netminder with something to prove.
For Minnesota, Jesper Wallstedt keeps carrying a heavy load while Filip Gustavsson remains out after hip surgery. The 23-year-old has been one of the Wild’s most valuable players through the first 10 games, and the numbers back it up: a 6-1-2 record, a 2.20 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in nine starts. He has started nine of Minnesota’s first 10 games and helped the Wild pick up points in eight of them.
Wallstedt also has history on his side against Calgary. In his only career start against the Flames, on Nov. 9, 2025, he turned aside all 36 shots in a 2-0 win.
Calgary is going with Devin Cooley, and the Flames are hoping his latest outing can be the spark that starts a run. Cooley owns a 1-2-0 record, a 4.01 goals-against average and an .868 save percentage in three starts, but he comes in off his best game of the season. In Sunday’s 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, he stopped 34 of 36 shots, finishing with a .944 save percentage as Calgary earned its second victory of the season.
That performance matters because the Flames have had a rough time keeping the puck out of their own net. They’ll need Cooley to be sharp again with Kirill Kaprizov and Minnesota coming to town. Kaprizov has been on a tear, leading the NHL with 11 goals and 17 points through 10 games.
The matchup tilts toward Minnesota on paper, especially on the defensive end. The Wild are allowing just 2.50 goals per game, which ranks sixth in the NHL, while Calgary has given up 4.63 goals per game through its first eight contests.
Cooley has faced Minnesota twice in his career and is still looking for his first win against the Wild. He is 0-2-0 with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage in those starts.
There’s also a little recent history working in Minnesota’s favor at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Wild are 15-11-3 in their last 29 games in Calgary after opening the all-time road series with a 3-18-4 mark.
Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. CT at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. Minnesota enters at 6-2-2 with 14 points, while Calgary is 2-6-0 with four points.
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The bigger issue, though, is what comes after that first wave. Minnesota still needs more reliable scoring depth, and that is where Dylan Larkin enters the conversation as a possible fit. He would not be coming in to join Kaprizov or Boldy on the top unit, but rather to give the Wild a legitimate second-line center option and help stabilize the rest of the forward group. If they are going to turn strong isolated performances into something more durable, that is the kind of move that makes sense. [Read more 🡒]
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But Hughes has not agreed to terms yet, and the wait is starting to intersect with the broader extension landscape across the league. The Tampa Bay Lightning are still working through Nikita Kucherov talks, and those negotiations have been nudged by the changing market after the Leo Carlsson situation. For the Wild, the storyline is less about whether they are willing to step up and more about when, or if, the next move actually comes. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Linked To Winger Who Could Change Their Forward Group
The idea of Minnesota adding Travis Konecny has enough appeal to make the rumor mill hum, even if nothing has been formally put on the table by Philadelphia. The Flyers are only being described as a possible trade team, but the mere suggestion of availability has already put the Wild in the mix as a club that could use another proven winger to deepen an offense that could always use more punch.
Konecny would be the kind of aggressive, productive fit that can change the look of a forward group, which is why this has caught attention around the league. The obstacle is just as obvious as the fit, since any real discussion would have to navigate a hefty contract and a built-in layer of protection that gives the player major control over where this goes next. [Read more 🡒]