Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson will get another chance in the nets soon

ANAHEIM, CALIF. – Filip Gustavsson stood in the crease with his glove hand resting on the crossbar, the goaltender a bystander as the Wild performed a drill at practice Monday in Anaheim.

Gustavsson had the same view during the last batch of games, just from the bench.

Marc-Andre Fleury has rattled off four straight starts, backstopping the Wild to a perfect homestand before a 3-2 shootout loss Saturday at St. Louis that kicked off the Wild’s road trip.

The veteran goalie was named the NHL’s third star of the week after his 2-0-1 stretch that included a 0.97 goals-against average, .961 save percentage and his 75th career shutout, which is one shy of reaching the top 10 in league history.

But Gustavsson will be back in action soon: The Wild begin a back-to-back on Tuesday against the Ducks before facing the Kings on Wednesday in Los Angeles, and each goalie will work a game, although coach John Hynes didn’t specify the order.

“Looking forward to it,” Gustavsson said.

After posting the second-best goals-against average and save percentage in the NHL last season, his first with the Wild, Gustavsson hasn’t had the same consistency in Year 2.

Fleury, meanwhile, is on a 9-2-1 run.

“We need two goalies down the stretch to play at a high level,” Hynes said. “I’ve liked [Gustavsson’s] practices. I know he’s hungry to get back into the net, and I think he’s done a good job of getting himself prepared. Now he’s gotta come out and compete.”

Although he hasn’t played in more than a week, Gustavsson is coming off a strong showing.

His 38 saves vs. Colorado on March 8 helped the Wild secure a point from a 2-1 overtime loss that saw the Avalanche score the winning goal on the power play.

“It felt like I had some good flow,” Gustavsson recalled. “It felt like I didn’t think too much. It was just all natural again. When it’s natural like that, you just know where to look, know where to put your body, and then it just works.”

Eriksson Ek has been sidelined since suffering a lower-body injury in the win over Arizona last Tuesday, and while he’s been out, Ryan Hartman has taken Eriksson Ek’s spot at center on the top line.

Hynes juggled the lineup late in Saturday’s game against the Blues, but Hartman was back with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy during practice Monday while Marco Rossi reunited with Marcus Johansson and Mats Zuccarello.

There was one change, though, on the fourth line: Adam Beckman skated in Vinni Lettieri’s spot after being a healthy scratch the past three games.

“We’ll look to give him another opportunity,” Hynes said.

The Wild signed prospect Rasmus Kumpulainen to a three-year, entry-level contract that begins next season.