Minnesota, we have a goaltending problem.
No, this story isn’t about the outstanding play from Gophers star goalie Adam Wilcox; it’s about the state of the crease for the Minnesota Wild.
According to Pro Hockey Talk, Darcy Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom have combined for a .902 saves percentage – good for dead last in the NHL in five-on-five situations.
“Whether GM Chuck Fletcher does anything about it remains to be seen. He could always stay patient and hope one of Kuemper and Backstrom finds a groove. But considering the former has just 49 NHL starts to his name and the latter, 36 years old now, hasn’t had decent numbers in a couple of years, nobody would blame Fletcher for picking up the phone and exploring his options.”
Josh Harding was supposed to be an option this season; but a broken foot derailed the start of his season and a spell of dehydration related to his multiple sclerosis has Harding back on the shelf for the time being.
Yeo:"We need some mental toughness right now);Yeo said goalies must be better, but last yr goalies interchangeable bc details in #mnwild gm
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 22, 2014
Minnesota has lost three straight games entering Tuesday’s home game against the Philadelphia Flyers. They allowed five goals to Chicago, three to Boston and six in Saturday’s overtime loss to Nashville. Don’t look now, but the Wild is only three points ahead of Colorado for last place in the Northwest Division. At the same time, Minnesota is only trails Los Angeles and Vancouver by three points for the seventh/eighth spots in the Western Conference playoff race.
Mike Yeo will name the starting goalie on Tuesday morning.
Yeo says he will announce Tuesday's starting goaltender Tuesday morning. #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 22, 2014
