Marc-Andre Fleury was hoping to get back in the net as soon as possible to move past what has been a horrific start for him this season. He will have to wait a little bit longer as the Wild officially turned to backup Filip Gustavsson for Monday’s game against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.
With the Wild off to a frustrating 0-2-0 start, Fleury has looked like a shell of himself in the Wild goal. Not only has he allowed 11 goals so far this season, he’s looked uncomfortable in the crease, which prompted coach Dean Evason to make a change.
“We’ve lost two in a row, right?” Evason said. “That’s the decision.”
Asked if it was hard to break the news to the soon-to-be-38-year-old Fleury, Evason lauded the professionalism of the future hall of famer.
“We had a good chat with Flower yesterday,” Evason said. “The thing is that Flower is the ultimate teammate. He wants to win.”
Though the 24-year-old Gustavsson is rather unproven to this point in his career, he showed some flashes during training camp.
“He’s calm,” Evason said. “That’s what we need from our goaltenders. We all need to just calm down and do our jobs from the goaltender out. That’ll be something we’ll make aware here tonight.”
It’s only a matter of time before Fleury is the starter once again. But the fact that Gustavsson is already getting the nod in a big game is something to keep an eye on.
ZUCCARELLO STARTS
After taking lineup rushes during Monday’s morning skate, Mats Zuccarello notably headed to the locker room earlier than the rest of his teammates. Asked about Zuccarello’s injury status, Evason said things were “up in the air” in the hours leading up to puck drop.
In the end, Zuccarello played through the pain, slotting in opposite best bud Kirill Kaprizov, and alongside Tyson Jost, who got elevated in the lineup.
It marked the biggest opportunity of Jost’s tenure with the Wild. Asked if he had to change his style of play when skating on the same line as someone like Kaprizov, Jost noted that he simply has to play his game.
“I’ve liked how I’ve been playing,” Jost said. “Just want to keep that up and complement him. Obviously, he’s a world-class player, and anytime I get to play with a guy like that it’s pretty special. I’m just looking at doing anything I can to help the team go in the right direction here.”
ROSSI SITS
It has been a slow start for top prospect Marco Rossi to say the least. He played sparingly in the loss to the New York Rangers and even less in the loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Rossi was a healthy scratch for Monday’s game. He took warmups before changing into his street clothes.
Though it hasn’t been the most promising start for Rossi, he’s trying his best to be positive. He has gotten much better at that over the past couple of seasons.
“Maybe it’s not easy right now,” Rossi said. “For me, the most important thing is to keep going and keep (showing) everyone what I can (do).”
That’s the only thing Rossi can do right now.
“Just try to be positive,” he said. “The most important thing is not to overthink everything. Just keep going.”
BRIEFLY
After being recalled from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League, Mason Shaw made his season debut in Monday’s game. He skated alongside Connor Dewar and opposite Brandon Duhaime.