COLUMBUS, Ohio — Through five games, the Wild’s three-headed goaltender rotation has been dominated by Filip Gustavsson, who made his fourth start Saturday against the Blue Jackets. Veteran Marc-Andre Fleury, playing his 22nd and last NHL season, has made one start, and rookie Jesper Wallstedt had yet to start one — anywhere. Officially reassigned to Iowa twice after making the Wild roster out of camp, Wallstedt was set to finally play in a game late Saturday at San Jose. The Wild are playing this season close to the NHL salary cap of $88 million because of a $14.7 million dead cap hit from the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in July 2021, giving them little roster flexibility. “The injury situation has not helped,” general manager Bill Guerin said by text before the Wild’s 6 p.m. CDT puck drop at Nationwide Arena. Because of early injuries to Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon, the Wild have had to carry extra players — rookies Liam Ohgren and Daemon Hunt are currently on the roster. Eriksson Ek was set to return on Saturday after missing two games because of a broken nose. Spurgeon has missed three games because of issues related to the hip and back surgeries he had last winter and didn’t travel to Ohio, and he wasn’t expected to join the team for games at Florida on Tuesday and Thursday in Tampa Bay. Wallstedt was expected to play games for the Wild early this season, especially during the five-game road trip that began Saturday, but as long as the Wild have multiple injuries — forward Ryan Hartman (upper body) was out Saturday, as well — it seems unlikely he’ll be recalled soon. Aside from Gustavsson being hot — he was 2-0-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .948 save percentage before Saturday’s game — there are no back-to-back games on this trip. Wallstedt was going to play games in Iowa anyway this season, it’s just a little odd that it has taken this long for him to get a start. Hynes said Fleury will play sometime on the trip, which ends with games at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. “Flower will be good. He’ll be fine,” the coach said. Related Articles Minnesota Wild | Goal puts Wild’s Filip Gustavsson in elite company Minnesota Wild | Short-handed Wild earn another point in 2-1 OT loss at Winnipeg Minnesota Wild | Jesper Wallstedt working to be ready for his next Wild start Minnesota Wild | Wild practice invaded by Kraken Minnesota Wild | On the eve of the Wild’s regular season opener, four reasons for optimism