After losing his starting job in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov is slated to man the crease when the Minnesota Wild take on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks in their Round 2 series that commences Friday night.
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According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Bryzgalov will play between the pipes for Game 1 at the United Center in Chicago after losing his job to Darcy Kuemper during the team's first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche.
Kuemper backstopped the Wild to force a decisive Game 7 but he was hurt with 8:13 remaining in the third period of that crucial game and was replaced by Bryzgalov as the Wild went on to defeat the Avalanche 5-4 in overtime to clinch their spot in Round 2.
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Kuemper suffered an undisclosed injury and wasn't able to continue the game and still isn't healthy enough to play, so the erratic Bryzgalov will suit up as John Curry serves as the backup netminder.
Bryzgalov had to make just one save after spelling Kuemper, and he is 1-2 overall in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4.25 goals-against average and a .826 save percentage. Kuemper had been 3-1 with a 2.03 GAA and .913 save percentage leading up to his injury.
The Wild goaltending situation looks much different than it was in the beginning of the year when Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding were the starting tandem, but now both are out with injuries.
"All four of these guys have done a great job at some point during the season for us," Wild coach Mike Yeo told NHL.com. "But again, I think an awful lot of credit has to go to the guys and the way they play the game in front of them. So those guys have done the job but our team has played a game in front of them that has given them a chance to be successful too, and that game hasn't changed."
The best-of-seven series with the Wild and Blackhawks begins Friday night in Chicago at the United Center.
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