Wild switching goalies for Game 2 of Stanley Cup Playoffs series, Avalanche mum on starter

Corey Masisak, The Denver Post on May 5, 2026

Published in Hockey

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DENVER — Jared Bednar would not divulge who is starting in net for the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of this second-round playoff series, but Minnesota coach John Hynes is making a change.

Filip Gustavsson will replace Jesper Wallstedt in the net Tuesday night for the Wild at Ball Arena. Wallstedt allowed eight goals in a 9-6 Colorado win in Game 1.

Bednar declined to answer any lineup questions ahead of Colorado’s morning skate. Scott Wedgewood has started the first five games of this postseason run. He allowed just five goals in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, but allowed six in the Game 1 win. Wedgewood was in the “starter’s net” during the morning workout and was the first goalie off the ice, both of which are typically indicators of who will be between the pipes that night.

Defenseman Josh Manson has missed the past two games for the Avs, but has been skating for a few days now. Bednar would not say if he’s available to play in Game 2. Nick Blankenburg has played the past two games and scored his first Stanley Cup Playoffs goal in Game 1.

Another defenseman, Jack Ahcan, did not play Monday night for the Colorado Eagles in Calder Cup Playoffs action and joined the Avs this morning. Blankenburg played 12 games for the Avalanche after being acquired just before the trade deadline from Nashville. Ahcan played in 11 games for the club earlier in the year when he split time with since-departed Ilya Solovyov as the No. 7 guy on the depth chart.

In other Colorado goalie news, top prospect Ilya Nabokov posted on social media that he has played his final game for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, and Daria Tuboltseva of SportsRU reported shortly after that he will join the Avalanche on Wednesday.

Nabokov, the No. 38 pick in the 2024 NHL draft and one of Colorado’s top two prospects, signed a two-year contract with the Avs on May 30, 2025, and was loaned back to Magnitogorsk for this season. Nabokov helped his KHL club win the Gagarin Cup in 2024 and was named the postseason MVP. He had another strong season last year, but his numbers slipped across the board this year and he appeared in just seven of the team’s 15 playoff games.

Colorado has both Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood under contract for next season, along with Nabokov and both of the Eagles’ top two netminders this year, Trent Miner and Isak Posch.

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