By: Chris Nosek

Game two on Tuesday night between the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche gave us some insight into what could become a major concern for the Wild. After dropping game one by a score of 9-6, Head Coach John Hynes made the decision to start Filip Gustavsson in game two. While there are many valid reasons to make a goaltending change, Hynes’ own comments are what bring this particular decision into question.

Prior to Game Two, when asked about the swap, Hynes mentioned they had considered turning to Gustavsson during their first series against Dallas, but opted not to. If rest was a concern for Wallstedt, then they would have used Gustavsson during the Dallas series. If not, then he would have entered the crease when the Wild fell behind 3-0 in the first ten minutes of Game One against the Avalanche. If Wallstedt needed further rest, despite the four-day break between games two and three, then Gustavsson could still have started Game Two. Otherwise, Game Two would have been the opportunity for Wallstedt to put a bad outing in the rearview mirror quickly.

This is exactly what Joel Quenville, a coach who’s won a Stanley Cup before, did with Lukas Dostal. In their fifth game against the Edmonton Oilers, Dostal allowed three goals on the first nine shots he faced in about 10 minutes. Quenneville pulled him, turned to Husso to finish the game, then went right back to Dostal for Game Six. Dostal responded with a 25-save performance, surrendering only two goals.

Instead of doing this, Hynes turned the net over to Gustavsson, who was coming off a three-week period with no games played. We know the original plan wasn’t for Gustavsson in Game Two. We can deduce this because they still turned to Wallstedt despite being up in the series. At that point, Gustavsson had not seen game action for two full weeks – up in the series, with a chance to clinch, would have been the opportune time to get him in.

This leads us to the conclusion that Hynes made the change due to Wallstedt’s performance in Game One. Well, after turning to his (now) three-week cold goaltender, the Wild are now down two games to none, and both goaltenders are coming off weaker outings. There is a four-day break in this series before Game Three, and now the Wild have two goaltenders dwelling on poor outings. So now, who do you turn to on Saturday for Game Three?

Over his 12 seasons as a coach, Hynes has been in the playoffs six times. His record is 10-23, and the eight games he’s coached thus far this season are the most he’s ever coached in a single postseason. Simply put, this was a panic move by Hynes. With a coach like Bruce Cassidy on the market, and the team Bill Guerin has assembled, Hynes has put himself in the offseason microscope with this decision.