Is Marc-Andre Fleury still the Minnesota Wild’s Game 1 playoff starter?

Daily Faceoff hockey analysts Tyler Yaremchuk and Mike McKenna appeared on Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live to touch upon a broad range of topics, including the Minnesota Wild’s goaltending situation.

Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson have shared the crease in Minnesota this season, with the results thus far being a little different than onlookers might’ve expected.

Gustavsson, 24, has taken a massive step forward in his first full NHL campaign after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators last summer in the Cam Talbot trade. The 6’2″ Swede has an 11–7–1 record and a .922 save percentage in his first 19 games with Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Fleury is chugging along at a decent clip — 16–10–3, .905 save percentage in 31 GP — but has been overshadowed by his much younger backup. Nevertheless, the 38-year-old goaltender has three Stanley Cup rings and a GM in his corner who played (and won) with him in Pittsburgh.

Here’s an excerpt from the conversation Yaremchuk and McKenna had about Fleury and Gustavsson on Monday’s Daily Faceoff Live show.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I want to pick your brain a little bit on what’s going on with the Minnesota Wild. Maybe a bit of a goaltending controversy is brewing, here’s how I’ll spin it to you. If Game 1 of the playoffs was today, which goalie would be starting for the Wild?

Mike McKenna: It should still be Marc-Andre Fleury, even though upstart Filip Gustavsson has been lights-out in net for the Minnesota Wild. Now, let me tell you why. You look at the sheer stats here on the season and you would think, ‘Man, Gus has been unbelievable.’ And, well, he really has. That’s the thing, he’s got a .922 save percentage. In 13 of his 18 starts, he’s allowed two goals or less for the Minnesota Wild. But he’s kind of coming into his own, it’s his first year being in the NHL full-time, and early in the year, Tyler, Gustavsson was facing lesser opponents. He had the easier of the schedule. Since the new year, that’s changed, though: he’s played Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Washington, Florida, some of these tougher clubs.

But Fleury’s still getting the bulk of the starts for the Minnesota Wild. He’s had the heavier workload, he’s played 31 games, tougher schedule, and he’s still 16–10–3. Now, his save percentage is down at .905, doesn’t look as good, but like I said, it has been a harder schedule — and there’s that playoff experience. You’ve got a couple Stanley Cups hanging around for Fleury. Gustavsson doesn’t have any playoff experience. And even in goals saved above expected, it’s a mismatch, right: Gustavsson’s at 13th; Flower’s 43rd. But I still think, given the workload and given the fact that Fleury is the heartbeat from the back end, playing the majority of the games, the goalie they’re most used to at this point, I would still say Fleury.

Watch the full episode here: