Wild call up rookie goaltender after losing Game 4.

The Minnesota Wild suffered an ugly loss in Game 4 of their opening round series against the Dallas Stars, one that was marred by a major controversy in the final moments of the game. In spite of that though you would expect the Wild to shake off the loss and hopefully bounce back in Game 5, but it seems the loss may have been the catalyst for a big change on the backend for the Wild.

On Monday, the Wild announced that they had called up rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to the main roster from the Iowa Wild. It isn't unusual to see players known as 'Black Aces' added to the roster, but they usually come in several at a time and the lone addition of Wallstedt today has raised some eyebrows.

Despite that, Wild insider Mike Russo is reporting that Wallstedt is only being brought in as extra insurance for the team and will be the third goalie moving forward.

When the move was announced there was some minor concern that Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson may have tweaked something, but most of the speculation actually surrounded veteran Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury struggled mightily in the lone playoff appearance he has had thus far for the Wild this season, so much so that there was legitimate reason to believe that Wild head coach Dean Evason may have lost faith in the experienced netminder

Fleury recorded a brutal 7.00 goals against average and a .774 save percentage in that lone outing, so if it is indeed the case you could hardly blame Evason for wanting to keep his options open.

Wallstedt is a former first round pick of the Wild, selected 20th overall at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, and has no NHL experience under his belt thus far. He recorded a 2.68 goals against average and a .908 save percentage over 28 games with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League this season.