It was a night to remember for Filip Gustavsson and the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. Not only did the Swedish net minder turn aside 27 shots in his team’s 4-1 win over St. Louis, but he also became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal when his empty netter crossed the line in the 3rd period.
Gustavsson stopped a Pavel Buchnevich slap shot with 15 seconds to go, and then fired a full length shot into the Blues’ empty cage to seal the victory for his team. In doing so, he became the first Minnesota goaltender to accomplish the feat at the NHL level.
“Flower looked up at the board and he’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re up two goals, you should probably try it. If you get the chance, you’re shooting right?’” Gustavsson said regarding his conversation with Marc-Andre Fleury during a timeout. “I was like, yeah, maybe I should.”
“They probably try and make me get a whistle and get a face off in our zone, and they just put it straight in the glove and I try and put it down as quick as I could,” Gustavsson said. “It just laid perfect there on the ice, and I just try and shoot as hard as I could.”
“It was unbelievable,” Wild forward Jakub Lauko said. “It was amazing. It would be nicer if we’d been at home with, like, a full barn. But, you know, it’s an incredible moment. I’m just happy for him.”
With the win, Gustavsson is now 2-0-1 with a .948 SV% and 1.66 GAA through his first 3 appearances. He’s now also tied for 4th place on the team goal scoring list at this point of the season as well.
Minnesota is next in action on Saturday October 19th in a 7pm ET showdown with the Columbus Blue Jackets.