Thursday, November 3, 2011

Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom Outstanding

Mike Yeo is faced with a problem. A good one, which has been rare these past few Minnesota Wild seasons.

Both of the Minnesota Wild goalies are playing so well that either is worthy of a start in the net. So while Yeo's choice to start Josh Harding again over Niklas Backstrom in tonight's game against Vacouver was not made without hesitation, Yeo can be confident that Harding won't drop the puck.

So far this season the Wild are allowing 2.09 goals per game, which is the fourth best in the NHL. Backstrom has had a few substandard games out of the eight he has played in, but he's still the starter with an All-Star game under his belt, alongside a 144-94 record. Even with all that, Harding has managed to work his way under the radar and into the net.

With two goalies playing outstanding defense, I look for the Wild to pick up their win rate as we head deeper into the season.

No comments: