ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild made a long-anticipated changing of the guard in goal entering this season, following the retirement of the revered Marc-Andre Fleury and his second-most wins in NHL history.

The transition to Jesper Wallstedt as the backup to Filip Gustavsson has gone better than even the Wild could have envisioned. With a league-leading three shutouts over his last four starts, Wallstedt has played like he's ready to be an equal part of an all-Swedish goaltending tandem on a team contending for the playoffs rather than just a rookie being eased into action.

With a 1.94 goals against average and a .935 save percentage, Wallstedt is in the top three in the NHL depending on where the playing-time minimums are drawn. He's 6-0-2 in eight starts, becoming the fou

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