Updated 00.45 | Published 00.32
NEW YORK. The Gus bus is humming on all cylinders again.
With 35 saves and a clean sheet during the penalty shootout, Filip Gustavsson led his Minnesota to a 2-1 victory in Saturday’s home matinee against Vancouver – the NHL’s most dangerous team.
– He has been really, really solid for us, says coach John Hynes.
The first season as declared first ice in Minnesota has not only been backstroke in cream sauce for Filip Gustavsson.
After an initial zero in the opener, a long sequence followed as he seemed to find it difficult to muster his celebrated composure between the posts, with more pucks than expected slipping past him.
During the visit to Stockholm last month, however, he started to look like himself again and since the coach change at the end of November, when John Hynes took over from Dean Evason, the 25-year-old from Skellefteå, like his teammates, has been excellent.
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1 / 2 Photo: Matt Krohn / AP
Praised by the coach
Last weekend he kept a clean sheet again, against Seattle, and during Saturday’s matinee in Xcel Energy, he broke Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, JT Miller and the other top scorers from Vancouver.
Out of 36 shots, he took 35 – and then he held tight during the penalty shootout that ended the evening.
– “Gus” has been really, really solid for us. Today he made great saves when it was needed the most, says Hynes.
Rookiens raketresa
He personally thanks the team.
– It feels more comfortable now, but it depends on how we play as a whole. In games as tight as this, earlier in the season we created very little, but even though there weren’t many goals today, we are up there and are dangerous all the time. Then it will be easier.
Notable otherwise is that Minnesota puts reasonable trust in only 21-year-old rookie back Brock Faber.
In the absence of the injured Jonas Brodin, the young American clocked in just over 30 minutes of ice time for the second game in a row.
full screenMats Zuccarello was safe in the penalty shootout. Photo: Matt Krohn/AP
2023-12-16 23:33:55
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