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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ATLANTA — The FBI and Atlanta Police Department are getting ready for a massive security operation ahead of the World Cup semifinals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
Both agencies have used drones to search for potential threats on the ground and in the sky. The FBI is enforcing the Federal Aviation Administration’s Temporary Flight Restrictions around the venue.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones nationwide since the World Cup began. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office Marlo Graham said 86 of those drones were seized in Atlanta.
Graham said the FBI uses a “mechanism” that allows agents to see unauthorized drones in restricted airspace. Agents then work to mitigate the threat posed by unknown drones.
“We’ve been able to safely land drones that have been unauthorized in the flight restricted area,” Graham said.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones at World Cup events since the tournament started. (FBI Atlanta)
While the FBI treats every drone as a potential threat, Graham said the threat level can increase depending on the size of the drone and how close it gets to the stadium.
“Obviously, the closer to the venue, the larger the crowd. We are fortunate here in Atlanta that we have a closed dome stadium,” Graham said. “We don’t want the game to be impacted because a hobbyist couldn’t control their drone, and it lands right when one of our star players was getting ready to score a goal.”
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The Atlanta Police Department’s Drone Unit has helped the FBI track down people suspected of flying in restricted zones.
Sgt. Kindu Franklin said most of the people caught flying drones around World Cup venues are hobbyists with no intent to harm the crowd of soccer fans below.
“In some cases, they just recently bought a drone just for FIFA to get some of the cool footage that they want to put up on their social media,” Franklin said. “There are different ways that you can weaponize these drones. So, we’re operating in a proactive manner.”
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission at the World Cup focuses on surveillance. (FOX)
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission is focused on surveillance. Officers are looking for potential threats, traffic issues and people the FBI suspects are flying drones illegally.
“So, what we want to do is give our command staff a view that they can’t get from the ground,” Sgt. James Cunningham with APD’s Drone Unit said.
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Cunningham’s unit can launch drones remotely from handheld controllers. Other drones are launched from docking stations strategically placed across the city, and officers control them from the back of an SUV using a computer and a PlayStation controller.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from docks strategically placed across the city. They are controlled by a computer and a PlayStation controller. (Fox News)
The drone docks are used year-round to help the police get an aerial view of emergency situations before officers arrive. The computer shows the drone pilot where all the police body cameras and vehicles are in the area, allowing them to communicate better with officers on the ground.
For the World Cup, the drone docks let the department have more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster.
“It’s going to cut down time. We’re going to get there quick. And then you’re going to get an aerial perspective of what you can’t see on the ground,” Cunningham said.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from docks to get more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster. (Fox News)
Cunningham said the drone unit has completed more than 1,400 flights and logged more than 550 flight hours since the beginning of June.
“Some people haven’t even done that in years or haven’t even reached those numbers in the life of their drone unit,” Cunningham said.
“We train for the environment. We live here, so we know what to expect,” Anais Paredes, an APD drone pilot, said.
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The FBI is asking that hobbyist drone pilots know the Temporary Flight Restrictions in their area before taking off.
There is a one-mile restriction around World Cup stadiums on non-match days, and a three-mile restriction on game day.
LAS VEGAS — From the time Austin Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life centered around playing with a savant in LeBron James.
That no longer will be the case.
Reaves re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $180-million deal, but James decided to move on as he prepares to play an unprecedented 24th season.
Reaves was stunned when he heard about James’ decision while playing golf in Lake Tahoe. Nearly two weeks later, Reaves says he still is trying to process the development.
“I kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here,” Reaves said Monday in his first news conference since re-signing. “Starting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He’s kind of all I’ve ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he’s 15. But that’s his decision and like I said in Tahoe, anytime I’ve talked about it, I got nothing but love and respect for him and yeah, let’s play some golf soon.”
The contract Reaves signed was the richest in NBA history for an undrafted player. At 28 and entering his sixth season, Reaves wanted to stay in L.A.
“I wanted to be a Laker the whole time. We had that period from when the season ended until the first [of July] to get something done and we figured it out before then,” he said. “My heart was in L.A. the whole time.”
Reaves will become one of the de facto leaders of the Lakers along with Luka Doncic. The two once again will be one of the most dynamic backcourts in the NBA.
“Obviously my relationship with the guys that were on the team last year,” Reaves said of why he wanted to stay. “And then Luka. I mean, he’s one of my best friends on this planet. Talk to him almost every single day. He sends me videos of his golf swing and asks me what he can do to get better and I tell him I’m not a coach.”
The Lakers have overhauled the roster: All the players who started alongside Reaves in the playoffs last spring are gone. With the signing of former Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams on Monday, the Lakers have eight new players, all of them arriving either via trades, free agency or the draft.
“They’re good,” Reaves said of the moves. “Obviously, I’ve been with the guys that are leaving for a couple years and with Bron for five years and I hate to see guys like that go. But the pieces that are coming in, I’m very excited about and I’m happy to get started today and see where it goes.”
Walker Kessler dunks during a game between the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers on March 23.
(Rob Gray / Associated Press)
One of those new players is Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center the Lakers felt fit best around Doncic and Reaves because he’s a lob threat, rim-protector and good defender and is developing his three-point shooting.
The Lakers got him from the Utah Jazz in a trade and then signed him to a four-year, $130-million contract. The Lakers sent out two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028, 2030).
Kessler, who played only five games last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, is aware the Lakers paid a big price to get him.
“It definitely makes you feel a certain way when you know an organization believes in you,” Kessler said Monday in his introduction. “And I think what they’ve invested, they’re showing that belief in a monetary value, not just with money, but like you said, assets. And for me, I’m somebody that if I know that they have that belief in me, I’m gonna run through a brick wall for them. That’s just how I’ve been wired my whole life and it definitely makes it a lot easier to go out there and compete for a team.”
Power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili could become a fan favorite, in part because of the tattoo he has on his lower left leg — a No. 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant.
Mamukelashvili, who signed a four-year, $52-million deal, averaged 11.2 points last season with the Toronto Raptors and shot 52.3% from the field, including 38.9% from three-point range.
“I got a Mamba Mentality tattoo. I just love his mindset,” Mamukelashvili said. “Growing up, I used to always say, “Mah-moo Mentality!’ So, I know it’s a little far from each other. But we are getting closer.”
When guard Collin Sexton, another new Laker, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, James left and signed with the Lakers. When Sexton signed a two-year, $19-million deal with the Lakers this month, James left again.
Sexton could only laugh about missing out on playing with James.
“He’s just leaving every time I arrive,” Sexton said, laughing. “That’s what it is. No, but one of the other coaches made the same joke yesterday. It’s cool, I know. I’ve always wanted to team up with him for sure, but it’s definitely cool knowing him and just having normal conversations and stuff, so that’s cool.”
Sexton averaged 15.4 points and shot 48.5% last season with Chicago and Charlotte. He’s ready for whatever role coach JJ Redick and the Lakers want for him.
“They believe in me,” he said. “And I just feel like at the end of the day, whenever a coach believes in you and like he said, he’s going to be hard on me and yelling and screaming at me. So, I like that. I think that’s what gets the best from me.”
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WWE will swing for the fences for the second straight year when it hosts one of its major premium live events of the year at a Major League Baseball ballpark.
The company announced on Monday that Survivor Series: WarGames will take place at Daikin Park in Houston – the home of the Astros – on Saturday, Nov. 28. It follows up the success of last year’s Survivor Series: WarGames event, which took place at Petco Park in San Diego – the home of the Padres.
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Roman Reigns lands a Superman Punch on Brock Lesnar during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 29, 2025. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
“Houston is the perfect host city to celebrate this milestone chapter in Survivor Series’ storied history, and we look forward to partnering with Houston First and the Houston Astros to deliver an unforgettable event,” WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said in a news release.
WarGames is a highly anticipated match, which has taken place yearly among wrestlers on the WWE roster since 2022. The premium live event has also seen some dramatic returns.
Stephanie Vaquer enters the ring during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
In 2023, CM Punk came back to WWE at the end of the show and shocked the entire sports world. Randy Orton also made his in-ring return during the match. Last year, a mystery attacker interrupted the WarGames match and gave the win to The Vision and company.
It’s unclear what is in the cards right now for the 40th edition of the event.
“We are proud to be able to help bring one of the world’s premier entertainment brands to Houston for what promises to be an unforgettable holiday weekend,” said Michael Heckman, President and CEO of Houston First, which partnered with WWE to bring the event back to Houston.
Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio celebrate their win during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
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“Hosting WWE Survivor Series will bring thousands of passionate fans to our city and generate a significant economic impact for community. Houston has earned a reputation for delivering world-class entertainment events, and we look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our destination.”
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