Alex Stalock was back between the pipes — Petr Mrazek, who had been out with a groin injury, dressed as the backup — in his old stomping ground Minnesota. He didn't face a ton of high-danger chances but he stopped the shots he needed to and kept his team in it. It was another quality start for Stalock. Special teams were virtually non-existent through two periods. Then things got chippy in the third period, which led to some power-play time for both teams.
He centered the fourth line with Mike Hardman and Buddy Robinson. He finished with five hits in 12:16 of ice time. Filip Gustavsson has been absolutely terrific this season for the Wild, and it stayed that way in this game. He went into the day with a goals saved above expected per 60 minutes of 0.685, per Money Puck, which ranks third among all goaltenders. For context, Igor Shesterkin was the runaway winner of the Vezina Trophy last season and he was at 0.666.