DALLAS — Surprise, surprise.

Most coaches keep their lineup decisions close to the vest in the playoffs, but coach John Hynes candidly put to rest the biggest question for the Minnesota Wild heading into this postseason: Jesper Wallstedt will make his Stanley Cup playoff debut on Saturday afternoon, starting over struggling veteran Filip Gustavsson in Game 1 of the first round against the Dallas Stars.

Plain and simple: The goalies decided for the Wild.

Gustavsson gave up four or more goals in five of his last six starts and has an .875 save percentage since the March 6 trade deadline. Wallstedt gave up two goals or fewer in eight of his final nine starts and has a .930 save percentage since the trade deadline.

Still, it sure sounds like their respective last starts of the season changed the Wild’s mind.

Before a 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday afternoon, on the road with 10 regulars scratched, all signs pointed toward Gustavsson starting Game 1 with a very short leash.

Then Wallstedt made 35 saves in a season-ending home win against the Anaheim Ducks behind a virtually identical lineup.

Wallstedt played with swagger. He looked like he was soaring with confidence, on and off the ice. Gustavsson, meanwhile, has shown some concerning signs in his demeanor, in net and in interviews after the recent Dallas loss (in which he gave up five goals on 22 shots), St. Louis loss (five goals on 22 shots) and Thursday’s practice in St. Paul.

“We never take lineup decisions lightly,” Hynes said. “Some of it is looking at both guys and — where are they at? Where are their games at right now? Where’s the overall picture of their season? How have they done against top teams? How have they played on the road, at home? What’s the psyche of each goalie? There’s a lot of things you take into account before you just make the decision.

“Personality is one. The current performance is one. The past performance is another. Those are all things you take into consideration ultimately when you make the decision, but I will reiterate this is our decision Game 1.”

This is a huge decision from the Wild, not just because you never know how a rookie goalie will react to Game 1 of the playoffs on the road in a hostile building like Dallas. But also, Wallstedt hasn’t played in Dallas since his NHL debut in January 2024, when he allowed seven goals playing behind a team that didn’t have defensemen Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin or superstar Kirill Kaprizov. Wallstedt was coming off a groin injury that kept him out of games in Iowa. But with Gustavsson hurt and veteran Marc-Andre Fleury playing at home the night before, the Wild had no choice but to recall Wallstedt and play him.

The Wild were so worried about Wallstedt’s makeup after the game that Mats Zuccarello made sure to point out that “this wasn’t” on Wallstedt, and Hynes walked to the back of the plane to give him a pep talk on the way back to Minnesota.

In other words, the Wild didn’t exactly put their “goalie of the future” in a position to succeed.

“Our team was decimated, and it was his first NHL game,” Hynes said. “Here we are in the playoffs. He’s a different human being, different experiences, different level of player playing for a different team with vast time in between those starts.”

All the traditional stats (goals-against average and save percentage) and analytics lately have pointed to starting Wallstedt being the more prudent move.

According to NHL EDGE tracking data, no team in the NHL scored more goals from the high-danger area (within 29 feet of the goal in the slot) than the Stars. The biggest challenge for Minnesota’s talented but undersized blue line will be protecting that area.

Wallstedt has an .830 save percentage on high-danger shots this season, ranking just outside of the top 10 in the league, while Gustavsson’s .811 save percentage on those shots is at the league average. Jesse Granger, The Athletic’s goalie expert, feels there’s a chance that Wallstedt’s style and ability to win in one-on-one situations with shooters is a better fit against a skilled Stars team that is elite at generating chances from in tight.

Hynes said he and goalie coach Freddy Chabot held separate meetings with Gustavsson and Wallstedt.

Asked how Gustavsson took the news, Hynes said, “It was a very good meeting with Gus. I think he’s in a good spot. He’s been challenged by this in a positive way, so I think it was two healthy discussions, and I think he understands what it is. But like any player, he wants to be in the net, and he’s going to continue to work toward that. That’s the response that you want. That’s the response that he gave, and I thought even today in practice, his demeanor (was good). And they knew before we got on the ice for practice and I liked his practice today. So, I think it’s all good there.”