Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson feels the love from Xcel Energy crowd

Filip Gustavsson had no idea what was going to happen.

Usually, when a puck is dumped into the Wild’s zone, he and the defensemen communicate the play. But the fans inside Xcel Energy Center were so loud near the end of Game 3 on Thursday night that the goalie couldn’t hear the strategy.

“It’s just screaming from the crowd,” he said.

The volume was partly Gustavsson’s doing.

Yes, there was an uproar after Marcus Foligno’s empty-netter polished off the 5-2 victory over Vegas, but that was after Gustavsson made a sliding pad save on Mark Stone during a fourth successful penalty kill for the Wild — the 26-year-old goalie receiving a standing ovation and getting serenaded with “Gus” chants.

“It felt really good,” Gustavsson said.

Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy have received the bulk of the attention for the Wild’s strong start in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and rightfully so: Both wingers rank among the NHL’s top scorers, and their video game moves have been the buzz of the first round.

But they’re not the only ones living up to their billing as the best players on the Wild.

So is Gustavsson, whose steadiness between the pipes is also why the Wild are leading the best-of-seven series 2-1 with a chance to push the Golden Knights to the brink of elimination when the puck drops on Game 4 Saturday afternoon in St. Paul.

“The biggest moments, [he] makes the biggest saves,” Boldy said. “He makes that save with a minute and some change left on the backdoor [Thursday] night. We score the empty-netter, and it seals it. But if he doesn’t make that save, that’s a one-goal game with a minute left, and you never know.

“You know what you’re getting from him right now, and he’s playing at the top of his game.”

This performance predates the playoffs.

While the Wild were vying to advance as a wild-card team in the Western Conference, Gustavsson was already locked in: From March on, he gave up two goals or less 12 times over his final 19 starts. That probably ended up being the best primer for the postseason because the Wild offense was barely producing during much of that stretch.

“You stand back there and you know if you let in one soft goal like [Thursday], maybe two weeks ago it would have been way tougher for the team to come back there,” said Gustavsson, who has a .922 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against average in the series. “Being able to score four goals now and one empty net, it makes it way easier and more relaxed from my side knowing we have that cushion.”

The aforementioned softy, a five-hole shot by Alex Pietrangelo from outside the right faceoff circle in the first period, was Vegas’ first goal in Game 3 after the Wild moved ahead 2-0.

“I was a little mad at myself after that first period,” Gustavsson admitted, but he didn’t dwell on the miscue.

“It’s not going to help just worrying about it,” he said. “Now just next shot, and next shot came down, I got it in the stomach there and never look back.”

He was airtight until the third period when the Golden Knights took advantage of a shorthanded two-on-one, but Gustavsson didn’t give up another goal the rest of the way despite facing back-to-back power plays. Of his 30 saves, nine came on the penalty kill, which went 4-for-4.

“We gave them some shooting lanes, and we know where the shot is usually coming from,” Gustavsson explained before crediting his teammates. “They picked up the sticks and boxed out, and when it got a rebound, they cleared.”

During the regular season, Gustavsson went 31-19-6 with a .914 save percentage and 2.56 goals-against average to set a career high in wins and shutouts (five) while having the third-most starts (37) with a save percentage of .900 or better; only Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (44) and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (39) had more.

Gustavsson’s been at that standard for both the Wild’s victories over Vegas, whose crease hasn’t been as stable.

Adin Hill, who backstopped the Golden Knights during their Cup run in 2023, was pulled before the third period of Game 3 after allowing four goals on 21 shots — this after the Wild tagged him for four goals on 16 shots in Game 2’s 5-2 finish. Akira Schmid was perfect in relief; he was also super sharp in four appearances earlier this month.

Down in the series and leaking goals, Vegas has a decision to make in net.

For the Wild, there’s no questioning Gustavsson’s role.

If not for his stops, those highlight-reel plays by Kaprizov and Boldy wouldn’t be as significant as they are.

“He makes big saves. That’s what he does,” defenseman Brock Faber said. “He’s so strong, so rock-solid all year. It just feels like every time we need it most, he makes that save or those saves.

“It’s so comforting and builds so much confidence, especially our ‘D’ corps.”