As previously reported, Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom left Thursday’s game with what seemed like a serious leg injury. Since then, we’ve gotten more bad news as Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has revealed that it’s not a short-term injury.
The full extent of Backstrom’s injury hasn’t been disclosed yet. However, it looks like if the Minnesota Wild want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they’ll have to find a way to win games without their top goaltender or their team captain and best forward, Mikko Koivu (shoulder). They also have to adjust quickly, as the Wild are scheduled to play in four games over the next seven days. The only silver lining in all of this is that backup netminder Josh Harding has been great this season, although he has started in just two games since the beginning of February.