Wild blank Ducks behind Jesper Wallstedt's second consecutive shutout

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 15, 2025

Published in Hockey

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild defeating the Ducks at full strength would have been commendable.

That they were better with a patchwork lineup was downright impressive.

In another show of progress for their net-out defending, the Wild blanked upstart Anaheim 2-0 Saturday night at Grand Casino Arena to continue their own resurgence: They have won three of their past four games and five of the past seven while losing in regulation only once in that stretch.

Jesper Wallstedt stopped all 28 shots he faced for back-to-back shutouts.

Wallstedt was coming off a 36-save, 2-0 victory over the Flames on Sunday and hasn’t given up a goal in 141 minutes, 9 seconds.

Marcus Johansson scored 55 seconds into the second period before Matt Boldy added an empty-netter with 55 seconds to go, the Wild hanging on for their 19th victory in their last 20 games against the Ducks after emerging from a three-day layoff more depleted than when their break started.

Marco Rossi is out week-to-week with a nagging lower-body injury, and Vladimir Tarasenko was missing, too, after suffering a lower-body injury at practice Friday. The Wild filled out their forward lines with Ben Jones and Liam Ohgren after calling him up from the minors.

But the Wild did get Jake Middleton back on defense after he sat out two games sick.

How it happened

With Anaheim’s years-long rebuild finally kicking into overdrive, the Ducks are the second-highest scoring team in the NHL, but they didn’t look like it.

Their early rhythm was interrupted by two Mason McTavish high sticks, the latter a four-minute penalty that forced Danila Yurov out of the action for part of the first period after Yurov was clipped up high. The Wild didn’t take advantage on those three power plays or a fourth in the second, but they were still testing Anaheim; a point-blank save on Kirill Kaprizov in tight was one of goalie Petr Mrazek’s better stops of his 29 overall.

Not until the first minute of the second period did the Wild connect, when Boldy parlayed the puck to Johansson for his seventh goal of the season on a rising backhander.

Turning point

Late in the second, the Ducks began to pick up the pace, but Wallstedt didn’t waver.

He denied Cutter Gauthier and stopped Frank Vatrano on a 2-on-1. Daemon Hunt also made a key contribution, breaking up Beckett Sennecke’s chance at a breakaway with a slick backcheck.

Again, during the third period, Anaheim had to take a backseat to another four-minute penalty for high sticking, but the Wild remained out-of-sync and finished 0 for 7; Zeev Buium prevented the Ducks from getting a shot off during a shorthanded 2-on-1 on the Wild’s last look.

The Ducks received their first two power plays in the third, but the Wild effectively escaped and Boldy’s 10th goal (which tied Kaprizov for the team lead) sabotaged Anaheim’s comeback for good.

Key stat

Going back to the Wild’s 5-2 win over the Islanders on Nov. 7, Wallstedt has saved 71 consecutive shots over his last three starts.

What it means

This was a statement game by the Wild, because of the outcome as much as the circumstances.

Rossi’s absence to deal with the same injury from a blocked shot Oct. 18 at Philadelphia that sidelined him for one game creates a hole at the top of the lineup, but the Wild’s experience also took a hit with Tarasenko being hurt. Although the team’s output lately has been timid, they were beginning to find some cohesiveness with their lines.

But the revised look wasn’t much of an issue because of how steady the Wild have been in their own end.

They’ve capitalized first in a franchise-record eight straight games and by not trailing, the Wild have been able to stay true to their structure and avoid the defensive meltdowns that cost them earlier in the season.

Still, when the Wild were vulnerable, Wallstedt was there to reinforce them, and that reliability in Wallstedt’s first season as the team’s backup is instrumental; at 4-0-2, Wallstedt has yet to lose in regulation.

Up next

The Wild take on the Golden Knights on Sunday back in St. Paul for the first meeting between the two teams since Vegas eliminated the Wild from the first round of the playoffs last season.