DALLAS — The facemasks worn by hockey goalies provide important protection for their faces. They also hide their expressions and emotions from fans, whether they’re in the arena or watching on TV.
So, when Minnesota Wild rookie Jesper Wallstedt presented an outward image of cool, calm collectivity in stopping 27 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his first-ever playoff game, it literally masked what was going on inside his head.
“I was definitely nervous. I think it just shows that it means something to you,” a smiling Wallstedt said after the Wild’s 6-1 victory over Dallas in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal Saturday at American Airlines Arena. “I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good.”
Wallstedt had gotten the word a few days earlier from Wild coach John Hynes that the net would belong to the younger of Minnesota’s two Swedish goalies, due at least in part to a late-season body of work that included superior numbers and a quiet confidence.
But when the team bus left the Wild’s hotel, there were a few butterflies that got onboard.
“There were definitely some nerves throughout the day, and a little bit extra when we were rolling in for the game here,” said Wallstedt, who won 18 of his 33 regular-season starts. “As soon as the national anthem is over and the first few pucks start coming, you lock in.”
Hynes said Sunday he did not expect any lineup changes for Game 2, but would not officially name Wallstedt the starter for Monday’s 8:30 p.m. puck drop here.
In the opening 20 minutes of Game 1, Wallstedt was the picture of calm and experience. When the game was done, all the Stars could do was tip their cap to the rookie who had helped put them in a hole in the series, and vow to give him more work on Monday if he is the starter.
“He looked solid, certainly, but we didn’t test him at all through the first two periods,” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said Game 1. “We got some residual when they sat back in the third, but when you’re sitting back in the third and the pressure’s not on, it’s kind of house money.”
In fact, Dallas got the crowd back involved, briefly, with a power-play goal to cut Minnesota’s lead to 4-1 in the second period. Over the next few minutes, Wallstedt thwarted a solo shot alone in front of the net, and foiled a 2-on-1 rush to keep the lead at three, and keep the audience from raising the decibel level.
Wallstadt admitted that one key to his success, especially on the road, is learning to block out the noise and the crowd.
“When I play my best, I kind of just see up until the top of the boards, and then you don’t focus on anything else,” he said. “Then it just looks like the same ice and the same boards in every rink, in every game. I try to just keep telling myself this is the same game I played since I was 6 and there’s nothing different to it.”
And if the nerves start to creep in a little, more than they might have when he was skating on a youth hockey rink in Sweden, 16 years ago, it just shows — or doesn’t — that the game means something to him.
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