Sports
Inside the Wild’s Filip Gustavsson’s perfectly aimed goalie goal
ST. LOUIS – Marc-Andre Fleury, wearing his black Wild baseball cap backward, had a front-row seat to history Tuesday night, but he was the one who planted the seed in Filip Gustavsson’s head in the first place.
Then, as if Fleury diagramed the play for his goalie partner himself, the St. Louis Blues’ Pavel Buchnevich cooperated fully with a perfectly placed 79-foot shot directly toward the Wild logo at the center of Gustavsson’s chest.
Gustavsson caught the puck with his trapper for his 27th save, dropped it in his blue crease, took aim and sailed a beauty the length of the ice for a bull’s-eye — the final goal in a 4-1 Wild win.
It was the first goalie goal in team history and Gustavsson is the 15th goaltender in NHL regular season history to score a goalie goal.
“That was unexpected,” goalie coach Freddy Chabot said at the press elevator after the game.
“That was awesome,” general manager Bill Guerin said. “You don’t see a goalie goal every day.”
“A power-play goal,” pointed out assistant GM Michael Murray.
GOALIE GOAL! GOALIE GOAL! GOALIE GOAL! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/NS3CsKb9ge
— NHL (@NHL) October 16, 2024
With 34 seconds left in the Blues’ home opener and St. Louis trying to kill a double minor, coach Drew Bannister called timeout seeking a miracle with his team down two.
Fleury had other plans.
“I called a quick goalie meeting,” Fleury said, laughing.
Gustavsson skated over to the bench and got some advice from the wise future Hall of Famer.
“Flower looked up to the board and was like, ‘We’re up two goals. You should probably try it if you get the chance. You’re shooting, right?’” Gustavsson recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe I should.’”
Gustavsson had never scored a goal at any level of hockey. He’d never consider it with a one-goal lead because if he missed, it would be an icing and an offensive-zone faceoff for the Blues.
“Up 2-nothing, I was like, ‘Yeah, if I get the chance, I’ll try it,’” Gustavsson said.
And then he got his chance.
Gustavsson figures Buchnevich was shooting the puck directly at him so he’d catch it, freeze it and give the Blues a late faceoff. But instead, Buchnevich “just put it straight in the glove and I tried and put it down as quick as I could,” Gustavsson said. “It just laid perfect there on the ice, and I just try and shoot it as hard as I could.”
As Fleury said, “Textbook.”
Celebrating the first goalie goal in @mnwild history! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/X5ciE7FTea
— NHL (@NHL) October 16, 2024
Chabot, the Wild’s goalie coach of five seasons, likes to do fun things with his goaltenders in practice.
One of the coolest looking is when he’ll have one goalie stand directly in front of the other to set one ginormous screen. Chabot will then whistle dead-accurate shots to the left, then to the right, then back to the left … over and over and over again on either side of the screening goalie so the one in the crease has to fight to find the puck.
But the most fun drill he conducts is goalie goals.
Former Wild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen was a goalie goal machine in his native Finland. Current Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt, a fellow Swede like Gustavsson, has scored goalie goals, too, including with Iowa in the AHL.
“I expected that from Wally,” Chabot said. “Not Gus.”
What shocked Chabot the most was that he has never seen Gustavsson in any of their practices shoot the puck as high as he did.
“I usually complain about my curve not being the right angle to get it that high,” Gustavsson said. “But I don’t know, extra powers or something.”
Most cool, according to ESPN, this was the third power-play goal by a goalie in NHL history (Evgeni Nabokov in 2002 and Martin Brodeur in 2013). He’s the second Swede to ever score a goalie goal, according to NHL Stats (Linus Ullmark in 2023).
Hilariously, Guerin walked into the locker room to congratulate Gustavsson, then asked Fleury if he had ever scored one. Fleury knew full well his former Penguins teammate knew he had not, then cracked up and threw a towel at the Wild boss.
After he scored, Gustavsson was mobbed by his teammates on the ice — Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin, Marcus Foligno, Yakov Trenin and Marat Khusnutdinov.
Jakub Lauko’s first Wild goal is a shorthanded beauty. 2-0 #mnwild pic.twitter.com/gLS19TpTcs
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 16, 2024
Jakub Lauko, who scored the game-winning short-handed goal in the second period for his first goal with the Wild, wanted to join the pile from the bench. There were only nine seconds left in the game, but he figured it was against the rules and decided to stay put.
Luckily for him, Gustavsson skated to the bench and did a fist-bump flyby with his blocker. The first person he greeted was a smiling, proud Fleury.
“Props to him,” Lauko said. “It’s pretty impressive, and he deserves it. It would have been nicer at home, with a full barn, but you know it’s an incredible moment. I’m just happy for him.”
Gustavsson’s goal was the Wild’s fourth power-play goal of the season. He joked that he wanted to help push the power play over 20 percent, but he actually pushed it to 30.8 percent.
“Should probably be in the power play meetings now,” Gustavsson said.
Wild coach John Hynes has seen a goalie goal before. While coaching Nashville, Pekka Rinne scored one in Chicago.
“It was one of my first couple games in Nashville,” he recalled. “But it was almost very similar to Gus’s. It was kind of a six-on-five situation and kind of dumped in on the goalie and he had time to be able to do it and you could tell both guys … were going for it. Great to see.”
With the Wild playing seven defensemen and not playing again until in Columbus on Saturday, Kirill Kaprizov logged 27:59 of ice time — the second-most in his NHL career. According to ESPN, it was the sixth-most by a forward who had no shots in a game since 2000-01.
But Kaprizov was terrific, having two beautiful assists on goals by Ryan Hartman and Marco Rossi. He leads 2-0-2 Minnesota, which hasn’t trailed in any game, with six points.
Kaprizov has one goal, however, and volunteered that he’s tied in goals with the Wild’s No. 1 goalie: “Same (number of) goals like a lot of guys.”
“It’s probably not gonna be for long,” Gustavsson said.
The irony about Tuesday is before the season, it’s believed the Wild had the Blues game slated for Wallstedt’s season debut. But the Wild are inundated with injuries to Joel Eriksson Ek, Jared Spurgeon and Marcus Johansson, so Wallstedt had to be sent to Iowa to make room for callup Daemon Hunt. Plus, Gustavsson is playing so well, they need Wallstedt to get some practices and game action somewhere and right now it can’t be Minnesota.
The Wild want to get Wallstedt more games in the NHL this season than the three he got last year, but the name of the game is winning and if Gustavsson keeps racking up victories, he should get the bulk of the playing time.
If the Wild want to get back into the playoffs this season, they need the “Gus Bus” to look and play like the goalie of two years ago who finished with the second-best save percentage and goals-against average in the NHL and not the one that floundered last season to a sub-.900 save percentage.
So far in three starts, he’s 2-0-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .948 save percentage. He worked hard this offseason, came back to Minnesota in tip-top shape and has improved upon his practice habits.
“I don’t think I do anything special out there,” he said. “(I’m not) flashy. Obviously, I make some bigger saves, but that’s usually when you’re out of position. I just try to be in the right position most of the time and make boring saves. And I think that’s been working very good so far.”
Good, like in the second period after Lauko’s short-handed goal where he preserved a 2-0 lead by sprawling across his crease to rob Jordan Kyrou.
“Obviously we all know at the end of last year (Gustavsson) wasn’t happy and no one was happy with what had gone on,” Hynes said. “He put some hard work in this summer and he’s come back in I think the right mindset and learned his lessons from last year and now he’s come in and he’s playing real solid and you need that.
“Early in the year sometimes it’s tough to win if you don’t get strong goaltending because the games are a little bit scattered as everyone’s trying to get used to the NHL pace, there’s sometimes breakdowns, systems aren’t totally dialed in where they need to be so when you can get really quality goaltending early, it gives you the best chance to win.”
Goalie goals help, too.
Gus making Wild history 👏 pic.twitter.com/lnjSeLQikN
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 16, 2024
(Photo: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
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Drake’s long-awaited album, “Iceman,” the ninth of his illustrious career, comes out Friday, but fans were given an apparent sneak peek late Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Overnight, an apparent song from the album was leaked on social media, which is rumored to be titled “1AM in Albany,” a series of songs by Drake storytelling during specific hours of certain cities that began with “9AM in Dallas” in 2009.
The song features some thinly veiled hits at Kendrick Lamar following their feud from 2024 into last year, but fans were taken aback at some apparent shots at LeBron James.
Drake and LeBron James talk after the NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on March 18, 2022. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
James and Drake were once very good friends, with James even taking the stage during one of Drake’s concerts years ago. However, James began to show some loyalty to Lamar during the famed rap beef that found its way to Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance.
“I shouldn’t even be shocked to see you in that arena, because you always made your career off of switching teams up,” Drake rapped. James went from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, back to the Cavs to the Los Angeles Lakers and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Singer Drake talks to LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers during an NBA game against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Nov. 25, 2015. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
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In a double entendre, Drake also implored his fans to “please stop asking what’s going on with 23 and me. I’m a real n—-, and he’s not, it’s in my DNA,” a play on words from the website “23andMe.”
Drake and James have linked up numerous times, but if this song is legitimate, and the bars are aimed at James, those times may be long over.
LeBron James and Drake attend the Drake and LeBron James pool party in Toronto for Caribana on Aug. 5, 2017. (Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Remy Martin)
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“Iceman” will be Drake’s first solo album since he released “For All The Dogs” in October 2023. His first album was “Thank Me Later” back in 2010, and he followed up with classics in “Take Care” in 2011 and “Nothing Was The Same” two years later.
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Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie didn’t expect to ever get a statue outside Crypto.com Arena. After all, it had been 15 years since her jersey retirement and no other Sparks player was featured among the Lakers and Kings heroes outside the area.
After years of hearing from fans that she deserve to be immortalized, Leslie learned she would join Sue Bird in Seattle as the second WNBA player to be honored with a statue at a franchise’s home arena.
“One thing I never had on my bucket list was a statue,” Leslie told The Times on Thursday. “I grew up seeing the statues of some of the amazing Lakers, so I’m just really grateful to be alive and to be one of the first, especially in the WNBA for L.A. Sparks. It means a lot to me, and I’m really hoping that our community will really rally around it.”
The Sparks announced Thursday morning that Leslie will receive a statue to be unveiled during a ceremony on Sept. 20 before a game against the Portland Fire.
During her 12-year career with the Sparks, Leslie won three WNBA titles and league MVP honors. She also won four Olympic gold medals. She was the first player in WNBA history to dunk in a game and her No. 9 jersey was retired in 2010.
She was one of the Sparks’ original players in 1997 and is the franchise’s career leader in points, rebounds, blocks, field goals, free throws, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, minutes and games played, and is third in the WNBA in blocks and double-doubles.
“I’ve known Lisa for nearly three decades and believe that she is beyond deserving of this incredible honor,” fellow statue honoree and Lakers great Magic Johnson said in a news release. “She was the driving force behind bringing back-to-back championships to the Los Angeles Sparks franchise in 2000 and 2001, and Lisa’s hard work and commitment has made her one of the best to ever play the game.”
Johnson, who is part the Sparks ownership group, accepted responsibility for the team’s skid two years ago and promised to do more. The Sparks owners, who also own the Dodgers and Lakers, have responded to losing at a boom time in the WNBA by executing a coaching change, breaking ground on a new practice facility and installing the first Sparks statue outside Crypto.com Arena.
“Lisa’s legacy isn’t just measured by championships and accolades, though; it’s defined by the doors she opened and the standard she set for generations to come,” Johnson said in the news release. “More than an athlete, she is a pioneer, a cultural icon and a force who elevated women’s basketball to new heights. This statue celebrates her excellence, her leadership and the future she helped create, and it ensures her impact will forever be part of the fabric of this city.”
Leslie said that she noticed fan lobbying for her to get a statue beginning in 2019, and the timing for her and the Sparks felt right during the 30th anniversary season.
“It couldn’t be better with the new [practice] facility coming, the new CBA, everything is aligning so properly,” she said. “It’s more perfect than it would have been a few years before.”
The statue was created by sculptors Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany and will join 15 others outside of Crypto.com Arena, including Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, Oscar De La Hoya, Chick Hearn, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Luc Robitaille, Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Miller, Elgin Baylor, Dustin Brown, Kobe Bryant, Gigi Bryant and Pat Riley.
“I hope she looks good,” Leslie said of the statue. “People don’t realize how hard it is to make a statue look good. … They helped me to be super specific about every little thing down to my earlobe and fingernail tip. So I’m excited about all the little details that have been added that people can kind of find on their own as well.”
Sports
US lifts costly visa bond requirement for some World Cup travelers, Trump administration says
FIFA World Cup 2026 countdown: New York, New Jersey prepare
Alex Lasry, CEO of the NYNJ Host Committee, discusses the countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in New York and New Jersey. He details plans for free fan experiences across five boroughs and New Jersey, emphasizing public transit solutions for 1.2 million fans. Lasry confirms real grass will be installed at MetLife Stadium for the event, highlighting the global excitement for this major sporting event.
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Citizens of a select group of countries who have purchased tickets to this summer’s World Cup matches in the U.S. will no longer be required to provide thousands of dollars in visa bonds to enter the country and attend the tournament.
On Wednesday, the State Department confirmed the Trump administration is waiving a prior mandate requiring visitors from Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia to post visa bonds of up to $15,000 to enter the U.S.
The department imposed the bond requirement last year for countries it said had high rates of visa overstays and other security concerns as part of a broader immigration crackdown. Travelers from at least 50 countries are subject to the bond requirement, but the five aforementioned nations’ teams have qualified for this year’s World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed outside the White House in Washington, D.C., ahead of the FIFA World Cup Draw on Dec. 2, 2025. (Michael Regan/FIFA/Getty Images)
World Cup team players, coaches and some staff already had been exempt from the bond requirement as part of the administration’s orders to prioritize the processing of visas for the tournament.
STATE DEPT TO START ROLLING OUT FIFA PASS FOR FOREIGN SOCCER FANS LOOKING TO ATTEND WORLD CUP IN US
“The United States is excited to organize the biggest and best FIFA World Cup in history,” Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said. “We are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets” and opted in to the FIFA Pass system that allows expedited visa appointments as of April 15.
In its own statement, FIFA said the announcement shows “our ongoing collaboration with the U.S. government and the White House task force for the FIFA World Cup to deliver a successful, record-breaking and unforgettable global event” and thanked the administration for the partnership.
President Donald Trump draws the United States card during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, 2025. (Michael Regan/FIFA via Getty Images)
However, the administration has barred travelers from Iran and Haiti, though World Cup players, coaches and other support personnel are exempt. Travelers from the Ivory Coast and Senegal face partial restrictions under an expanded version of that travel ban, even without the visa bond exemption.
The World Cup begins June 11 and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Some measures from the administration prompted Amnesty International and dozens of U.S. civil and human rights groups to issue a “World Cup travel advisory” that warns travelers about the climate in the U.S.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino hands the FIFA World Cup Winners Trophy to President Donald Trump during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 22, 2025. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
In a report this month, the main advocacy group for U.S. hotels blamed visa barriers and other geopolitical issues for “significantly suppressing international demand,” leading to hotel bookings for the soccer tournament that are far below what had initially been anticipated.
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As of early April, the number of World Cup fans affected by the bond requirement was believed to be relatively small, perhaps only about 250 people, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But they said that number was changing rapidly as more people buy tickets and some with tickets opt against traveling.
FIFA had requested the waiver, which had to be approved by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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