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Jesper Wallstedt makes Oilers pay posting 33-save shutout in 1-0 Wild win: Recap, Reaction and Highlights
Edmonton Oilers Matt Savoie vs. Minnesota Wild
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Zach Laing
Dec 2, 2025, 22:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 3, 2025, 00:02 EST
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It was the most obvious shutout in NHL history.
You could see it coming a mile away.
Four years after the Edmonton Oilers passed on drafting him in the first round, Jesper Wallstedt made them pay, stopping all 33 shots he faced in the Minnesota Wild’s 1-0 win Tuesday night.
Wallstedt was nothing short of spectacular for the Wild, seemingly stoning the Oilers every time a shot came off their stick. It wasn’t as though the Oilers played a bad game on Tuesday. They fired 32 shots, wholly dominating the game, but they just couldn’t find a way to break through.
Minnesota’s lone goal, good enough for the game winner, came partway through the first period, when a faceoff won by Nico Sturm went back to the point, allowing Jonas Brodin to blast a shot over the shoulder of Stuart Skinner.
Wallstedt continues a tremendous run to start his rookie season, posting his fourth shutout in 10 games this season, and his fifth shutout in the 15 NHL games he’s played. With the win, he became the first goaltender in 61 years, and the seventh since the league allowed forward passing in 1929-30, to have five shutouts at the time of his 10th career win, joining hte likes of Roger Crozier (5 on Nov. 1, 1964), Ed Chadwick (5 on Dec. 15, 1956), Jacques Plante (5 on Oct. 7, 1954), Frank Brimsek (6 on Dec. 27, 1938), Mike Karakas (5 on Jan. 9, 1936) and Wilf Cude (5 on Feb. 4, 1934), according to the NHL’s stats department.
Oilers fans watching will undoubtedly have a sour taste in their mouth from the game. The team had the 20th overall pick in the 2021 draft, trading back two spots with the Wild to select Shawinigan Cataractes centre Xavier Bourgault, while adding a third-round pick used to select German defenceman Luca Münzenberger.
The Oilers traded Bourgault in July 2024 to the Ottawa Senators for a fourth round pick in 2025 and prospect Roby Jarventie, who has put up eight goals and 13 points in 14 AHL games this season for the Bakersfield Condors. Müzenberger, meanwhile, left North America after last season to return home to play in Germany.
For as much as that sour taste is there, the Oilers simply deserved better Tuesday night. They were the better team for much of the night, carrying over a solid game against the Seattle Kraken last Saturday night, and putting together another performance where they were dominant.

Takeaways…

  • Oilers captain Connor McDavid admitted after the game the team had passed away too many good looks, “myself more than anybody.” Fair analysis, and the honest truth. The Oilers continue to spend too much time looking for the perfect play, and while the game as a whole was solid, they generated just seven high-danger chances at five-on-five.
  • If you’re looking for another reason why the Oilers didn’t generate many high-danger looks, look no further than the shot splits for the Oilers. Of their 33 shots on goal, 11 came from their six defencemen.
  • For all the talk of Wallstedt’s big night, it was a quality start from Skinner, who saved 23 of 24 shots for a .958 save percentage. One can make an argument that he should’ve made the save on Brodin’s point shot, but it’s hard to fault him as a whole considering the Oilers couldn’t even get on the board once.
  • Connor Clattenburg played just 4:40 on the night, laying one hit, but early in the game, appeared to “accidentally” hit Wallstedt’s skate with his own after a whistle, sending the netminder to the ice and drawing a crowd. Tough for him to see much ice in a game like this the Oilers are chasing, but his size, skating ability and physical play have the makeup of somebody who can be an effective fourth-liner in this league.
  • Edmonton’s schedule continues Thursday night as the Kraken roll into town.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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