(11-7-25) Wild Vs Islanders: Starting Goaltending Matchup

Wild Vs Islanders: Starting Goaltending Matchup (11-7-25)

The Minnesota Wild (5-7-3) travel to face the New York Islanders (6-5-2) tonight in an important matchup featuring rookie Jesper Wallstedt and veteran David Rittich in goal.

Minnesota Wild Starting Goalie: Jesper Wallstedt

After five consecutive starts and playing in yesterday’s loss to Carolina, Filip Gustavsson will sit out tonight’s game. Jesper Wallstedt is expected to start. This season, Wallstedt is 1-0-2 with a 3.38 goals-against average and a .863 save percentage over ten games.

At 23, Wallstedt has never faced the Islanders before, either this season or in his career. His NHL career record stands at 3-3-2, with a 3.34 goals-against average and a .863 save percentage.

New York Islanders Starting Goalie: David Rittich

The Islanders are playing the first game of a back-to-back series. Head coach Patrick Roy confirmed to the Isles' media that David Rittich will get the start tonight, with Ilya Sorokin set to start on Saturday.

Rittich, 33, is 3-1-0 this season in four games, holding a 3.01 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. Although he did not face the Wild last year, Rittich has been highly successful against Minnesota in his career.

“Rittich has had a lot of success against the Wild in his career... He is 5-0-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.”

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Summary: Tonight's game features rookie Jesper Wallstedt making his debut against the Islanders, while veteran David Rittich brings a strong career record against the Wild into this key goaltending duel.

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The Hockey News The Hockey News — 2025-11-07

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