"Yielding five goals? Just a blip. The Wild firmly believe they have two top-line goaltenders in Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, and that doesn't change just because Backstrom allowed five goals in his team's 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. "No worries about Nik at all, and I mean that completely," coach Todd Richards said Thursday. Backstrom last season did not finish with the kind of numbers that helped him share the William Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez in 2006-07 or establish franchise records for wins in a season the following two years, but Richards prefers to pass any blame around. Take Wednesday night, for example. "The first three goals, we had the puck on our stick," Richards said. "At the end, everyone always looks at the goalie and says we needed a save, but we made a lot of mistakes leading up to those points. Looking at the goals, I don't know if there's one where you can point a finger at Nik and say he's got to be better on it." The plan this season is to spell Backstrom with Harding more often. Harding, therefore, will get the start in tonight's rematch against the Blues while Backstrom will practice in St. Paul. It'll be the first test for Harding, who missed the end of last season with a torn labrum that required surgical repair. " http://www.twincities.com/wild/ci_16158512
