The Minnesota Wild waited until the very last day of the regular season to clinch a playoff spot, and as a result they now face the daunting task of going up against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. While the Wild will need consistent scoring from Zach Parise and the rest of their forwards to have any hope of success, their fate in this series may now rest in the hands of their backup goaltender. Starter Niklas Backstrom was injured during warm-ups before Tuesday night’s game, which thrust Josh Harding (above) into action for the start.
Harding has only played five games for the Wild this season, and din’t exactly look sharp in his last appearance. He is 1-1-0 this season with a 3.24 goals-against average and .863 save percentage, and allowed three goals on 12 shots after replacing Backstrom in a loss to the Edmonton Oilers last Friday. Harding started the season with the Wild, but was sidelined for nearly all of February, March and April while dealing with complications from the medication he takes to combat his multiple sclerosis. While it is unknown how serious Backstrom’s injury is, this is bad news for a Minnesota team that is already missing Dany Heatley and Jason Pominville.
Backstrom was a huge part of keeping the Wild in playoff contention this season, as he racked up 24 wins while posting a 2.48 goals-against average. He played in 42 of the team’s 48 games this season, yet fared better this year than in 46 appearances during the previous season (19 wins). If Backstrom can come back and deliver a huge performance for the Wild in this tough series, it certainly won’t hurt their chances of pulling off a stunning upset.
Jonathan Katje is an NHL senior writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your circles on Google Plus.
