Jesper Wallstedt Is 2-0 With Gustavsson and Faber Hurt and a Road-Heavy October Ahead

The Minnesota Wild opened the season without their veteran starting goalie and without their top-pair defenseman, and they are 2-0 anyway. Jesper Wallstedt has stopped 45 of the 47 shots he has faced, Quinn Hughes is producing with a new partner, and Kirill Kaprizov already has three goals.

The injuries are real, though, and they shape the Wild's fantasy picture for at least the next month. Filip Gustavsson is on injured reserve after offseason hip surgery and is not expected back until around early November. Brock Faber is out indefinitely after surgery for a fractured skull. Here is what that means for Wallstedt, Hughes, Jared Spurgeon and your lineup.

The injuries

Faber was hit near the ear by a Sam Steel shot in the second period of Minnesota's preseason finale against Dallas, in an area his helmet did not cover. He stayed in the game and did not miss his next shift, but he was taken to the hospital in the third period and had surgery that Sunday. Coach John Hynes noted that a slightly higher shot would have simply hit his helmet. General manager Bill Guerin said the team will follow the doctors' lead on a timeline, and there is none yet.

Gustavsson's situation is more predictable. He had hip surgery in the offseason, has been working through physical therapy without setbacks, and was placed on injured reserve with an early November target. Guerin said over the summer that his goalie could be available within the first month or two of the season.

Wallstedt has the net

Wallstedt entered camp as Minnesota's No. 1 option and started the final two preseason games. He has been sharp in both regular-season starts, with Calvin Pickard serving as his backup.

The opener in Nashville was the kind of game that looks good for a goalie: Nick Foligno and Blake Coleman scored in the first period, Kaprizov added one early in the third, and Roman Josi's goal was the only one Wallstedt allowed. The home opener was busier for Wallstedt, who faced 27 shots, and Minnesota pulled away with two second-period power-play goals and Spurgeon's deflected goal early in the third.

The workload question is the one fantasy managers should focus on. Minnesota plays 15 games in its first month, 10 of them on the road, and Gustavsson is not expected back before early November. Pickard should get some starts, especially on back-to-backs, but Wallstedt is positioned to take the large majority of the October schedule. For a goalie on a winning team, volume like that is the most valuable thing he can have.

Who absorbs Faber's minutes

Faber was not a minor piece. He had 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games last season, averaged 24:41 of ice time (second on the team behind Hughes at 27:54), and led the Wild in short-handed time at 2:24 per game.

The Wild are covering that with a committee:

- Jared Spurgeon moved next to Hughes on the top pair. He was paired with Hughes in the third period of the Dallas game and has stayed there in practice. He also takes Faber's spot on the power play. - Daemon Hunt and Zach Bogosian split the extra penalty-kill time. - Quinn Hughes keeps his heavy minutes and his role running the top power-play unit. He had a goal and an assist against Boston, scoring on the tail end of a five-on-three in the second period.

Hughes is very much in Minnesota and very much the engine, but his contract is worth tracking. He is in the final year of a deal carrying an $8.25 million cap hit, and Pierre LeBrun reported that Hughes has not given his agent the green light to negotiate an extension with the Wild. That is not a fantasy issue this week, but it adds trade speculation to the season-long picture.

Fantasy fallout

Jesper Wallstedt should be started in every format. The combination of workload, a team playing strong structural hockey, and early results makes him one of the safest weekly goalie starts available right now. If he is somehow on waivers in a shallow league, he should be the first goalie you claim.

Calvin Pickard is a streaming option only. He will get spot starts, but Minnesota has not indicated anything like a split. Use him only in deep leagues or on days with a favorable matchup when Wallstedt is confirmed out.

Jared Spurgeon is the clear beneficiary. Top-pair minutes next to Hughes plus a power-play role is a real fantasy upgrade, and he already scored against Boston. He is worth adding in deeper points leagues and in leagues that count shots and blocks.

Quinn Hughes remains an elite start. Losing Faber may push his minutes even higher.

Zach Bogosian and Daemon Hunt are banger-league adds at most. Extra penalty-kill time helps blocks and hits, but there is little scoring upside.

The DFS goalie angle

In DFS, Wallstedt's appeal is consistency. He has faced 20 and 27 shots in his two starts, and Minnesota has not allowed more than one goal in either. That profile wins more often than it scores huge, so he fits best in cash games. Tournament players chasing a big save total should look elsewhere on nights when Minnesota is a heavy favorite.

The next three games are all on the road in the East: Buffalo on Tuesday, Tampa Bay on Thursday and Florida on Saturday. Check each slate's starting-goalie confirmations, because the trip is the most likely stretch for a Pickard start. Florida in particular is playing without Aleksander Barkov, who is on long-term injured reserve, which lowers the Panthers' offensive ceiling for that game.

Betting angle

Minnesota's early success has come with a young goalie and a patched defense, and the market will start to adjust. The risk for bettors is a Pickard start on a night when the line was set with Wallstedt in mind. Waiting for goalie confirmation before betting Wild moneylines or unders is the simplest edge available in this situation.

Verdexed's game-by-game projections are at /nhl/predictions.

What's next

The back-to-back on October 12 and 13 is the first obvious spot for Pickard. Faber has no timeline, so any update from the team on his recovery would be the next major development, while Gustavsson's early November target keeps Wallstedt in place as the starter for now. Until either returns, start Wallstedt and Hughes, add Spurgeon where you need defensive scoring, and confirm the goalie before every DFS lock.