Minnesota Wild News

Despite rotating goalies nearly all season, Jesper Wallstedt will start his fourth straight game of the playoffs as he attempts to even up Minnesota's opening round series vs. Dallas on Saturday. The 23-year-old has struggled a bit in Minnesota's previous two games, allowing seven goals after holding Dallas to only one in Game 1. He brings his 1-2-0 record, alongside his 2.27 GAA and .916 SV% into Game 4 as he looks to even the series on home ice.

Trenin was on the receiving end of a massive open-ice hit from Colin Blackwell of the Dallas Stars early in Game Two on Monday, exiting the game immediately after, playing only 3:02 time-on-ice. He was subsequently held out of the lineup in Game Three and will miss at least one more game. The 29-year-old Trenin led the NHL with 413 hits in the regular season, and his physical presence will be sorely missed by Minnesota during his absence.

After serving as a healthy scratch in the opening two games of the series, Sturm will slot into the lineup in Game 3 in place of the injured Yakov Trenin (upper-body). Sturm appeared in 49 regular season games for the Wild, tallying five goals and six assists.

Trenin was on the receiving end of a massive open-ice hit from Colin Blackwell of the Dallas Stars early in Game Two on Monday, exiting the game immediately after, playing only 3:02 time-on-ice. The 29-year-old Trenin led the NHL with 413 hits in the regular season, and his physical presence will be sorely missed by Minnesota in Game Three.

Trenin was on the receiving end of a massive open-ice hit from Colin Blackwell of the Dallas Stars early in Game Two on Monday, exiting the game immediately after, playing only 3:02 time-on-ice. The 29-year-old Trenin led the NHL with 413 hits in the regular season, and his physical presence will be sorely missed by Minnesota if he is unable to play in Game Three.

Wallstedt allowed a weak goal in the first period of Minnesota's 4-2 Game Two loss to the Dallas Stars, one of three goals allowed on 31 shots (.903 SV%), but has otherwise played very well in his introduction to the NHL playoffs. The 23-year-old Swedish goalie has saved 55 of 59 shots (.932 SV%) in two postseason games (1-1), picking up on his hot stretch to end the regular season, when he posted a tremendous 1.86 GAA and .934 SV% in his final six games (4-2-0). Minnesota enters Game Three as -130 home favourites, looking to take a 2-1 series lead.

Trenin was on the receiving end of a massive open-ice hit from Colin Blackwell of the Dallas Stars early in Game Two on Monday, exiting the game immediately after, playing only 3:02 time-on-ice. The 29-year-old Trenin led the NHL with 413 hits in the regular season, and his physical presence will be sorely missed by Minnesota if he is unable to play in Game Three.

After serving as a healthy scratch in Game 1, Brink will slot in for Mats Zuccarello (upper-body) in Game 2 on Monday. Brink appeared in 68 games this season split between the Flyers and Wild, tallying 15 goals and 15 assists.

There was some uncertainty when Head Coach John Hynes announced Wallstedt as the starting goalie for Game One, but there is no question heading into Game Two. The 23-year-old rookie goalie was tremendous in his postseason debut, saving 27 of 28 shots (.964 SV%) in a one-sided 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars. Dating back to the end of the regular season, Wallstedt has saved 140 of the last 148 shots he's faced (.942 SV%). Minnesota has a chance to take control of the series, entering Game Two as +121 road underdogs.

Bogosian missed the final six games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, but he will play in Game 1 in Dallas. Bogosian is expected to replace Jeff Petry in the lineup and play on the third pairing.

Hughes missed the final two games of the regular season and Friday's practice, but as expected, he'll play Saturday in Dallas. Hughes, had another great season, finishing fifth among defensemen with 76 points (7G / 69A) in 74 games.

Pickard will serve as the Oilers' No.3 goalie throughout the postseason. Since going down to the AHL, he has gone 4-3-1 with a 3.26 GAA and .886 SV% in eight games.

Bogosian has been sidelined since April 4th, but is expected to play in Game 1 in Dallas. Bogosian isn't known for his offensive game, posting just six points (2G / 4A) in 41 games this season. But he averaged nearly one block and over one hit per game.

Hughes missed the final two games of the regular season due to illness, but the Wild expect him to play in Game 1 in Dallas. After being acquired from Vancouver, Hughes had 53 points (5G / 48A) in 48 games.

Wallstedt started the 2025-26 season on fire in his first 10 games, but cooled off from early December to late February. However he's rediscovered his early-season for as of late, going 5-3-2 with a 1.98 GAA and .930 SV%. He did not face the Stars this season, but was 9-4-4 with a 2.44 GAA and .918 SV% on the road.

Hughes is battling an illness and was absent from practice on Thursday, but Minnesota's Head Coach John Hynes insisted that he was hopeful that Hughes would be ready for Game One on Saturday. The 26-year-old Hughes has been tremendous since being acquired by Minnesota earlier this season, averaging a career-high 27:54 time-on-ice and scoring 53 points (5G / 48A) in 48 games.

Dexheimer completed his senior season at Wisconsin (NCAA) last week after a loss in the National Championship and has signed a one-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday with the Minnesota Wild. The 23-year-old undrafted defensemen was the captain of Wisconsin this season and had seven goals and 28 points in 39 games played in 2025-26.

Fresh off of winning an NCAA National Title, Rieger Lorenz has signed a two-year, entry-level contract with Minnesota on Wednesday. The 22-year-old winger was Minnesota's 2022 2nd round pick (56th overall) and completed a successful senior season at the University of Denver (NCAA) with 17 goals and 35 points in 43 games played.