Who will be in the Wild goal in Game 5 of their Western Conference playoff series with Chicago?
We’ll have to wait and see.
Third-string goalie Darcy Kuemper came into Tuesday night’s game in the second period after Josh Harding suffered a left leg injury, according to ESPN.com.
Harding — who has played the entire series in relief of first-stringer Niklas Backstrom — was injured with about four minutes to play in the first period on a collision with Chicago’s Jonathan Toews. He finished the period, but Kuemper relieved him after the intermission.
It didn’t go well off the bat.
The first shot Kuemper faced — from Chicago’s Patrick Sharp — went through his legs, giving Chicago a 2-0 lead.
“It was a tough situation to go into,” Kuemper told Fox Sports North. “But no excuses. It’s not a goal I like to let in.”
For the night, Kuemper stopped 16 of 18 shots he faced in his NHL playoff debut.
On the surface, not bad when you consider he hadn’t played an NHL game in more than a month — and against the top seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But will he start in Thursday’s truly do-or-die Game 5?
Wild coach Mike Yeo says the team will try to figure that one out soon — promising an update sometime today.
