Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Video: Wild’s Backstrom hurt during warmups, Harding starts Game 1

Niklas Backstrom

Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, of Finland, in action against the San Jose Sharks during an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

AP

The series hasn’t even started for the Minnesota Wild and they’re already fighting an uphill battle in warmups.

Starting goalie Niklas Backstrom went down during pregame warmups after taking a shot and stretching to his right to follow up on it. He stayed down on the ice and needed help to get back to the bench.

That means backup Josh Harding will get the start tonight and the last time he started came against Chicago on January 30. He was pulled after playing just 6:45 of the game and allowed two goals on four shots. Last we saw of Harding after that came in Minnesota’s 6-1 loss to Edmonton last week when he replaced Backstrom allowing three goals on 12 shots in relief.

Harding is playing tonight as if it was a high-wire act and going without a backup of his own.

Update: Our NBCSN cameras caught what happened to send Backstrom out of tonight’s game.