Harding's goaltending helps Wild earn crucial road points

Mark J. Terrill, AP

Kings left winger Michael Cammalleri fell into Wild goalie Josh Harding during the third period of Minnesota’s 2-1 victory Friday night at Los Angeles. Cammalleri was penalized for interfering with Harding.

After sweeping the Ducks and Kings, Minnesota leads a tight Northwest Division race.

By Michael Russo, Star Tribune

Last update: December 17, 2007 - 7:16 AM

Amazing what back-to-back victories on the road can do.

Talk about changing the complexion of an entire road trip, let alone the team's standing in the Western Conference, the Wild returned home from Southern California on Sunday morning feeling awfully good about itself.

Behind Josh Harding's phenomenal goaltending, the Wild creamed the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Friday. Twenty-four hours later, it edged the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 to take over the top spot in the no-room-for-error Northwest Division and return to the Twin Cities confident as it prepares to open a three-game homestand Tuesday against Nashville.

"We turned what could have been a poor road trip into a great road trip," said Brian Rolston, referring to lopsided losses at Detroit and San Jose. "They're huge points for us. We really had to dig deep, especially with the flu going around and hitting almost every one of us. We really dug deep."

Prior to Anaheim and L.A., the vibe around the Wild was as negative as could be. Coach Jacques Lemaire was blindsided after Saturday's victory when told the Wild was in a stretch where it has won seven of 10.

"Huh?" said Lemaire, eyes open wide.

Told the numbers again, an astounded Lemaire said: "Is that right? I never thought that. I thought it was three out of 10. That's unbelievable."

Lemaire said it all starts with goaltending before alluding to a goalie controversy.

Before Anaheim, Harding was in a 1-6-1 slide with a 3.56 goals-against average and .882 save percentage. But after allowing three goals in back-to-back victories, Harding added nine points to his now-.915 save percentage and shaved a quarter of a goal off his now-2.68 goals-against average.

"We need a goalie that will give us a chance to win, and that's what we've been having the last two games," Lemaire said. "We need this."

Asked if that was an indictment of Niklas Backstrom, who struggled in recent losses to Philadelphia and San Jose, Lemaire said, "I know he can do better."

Goalie coach Bob Mason said he can see the swagger back in Harding's game.

"You can see when he's got his bounce, you know he's got confidence," Mason said. "Sometimes he wanes a little bit. He's a cocky kid, but in a good cocky way. He's confident in himself and everybody can see that.

"He's showing that now. He wasn't far off. How many odd bounces were there against him? I kept stressing to him that his technical game, his fundamentals were solid. But he didn't read plays early enough. The last two games, he's been right on."

On his improved game, Harding said: "I had to get the confidence back from the team, but most importantly, we're getting the wins. It's tough to come into Anaheim and L.A. and get four points. It shows the character in this room."

In fact, it was only the third time in Wild history it had swept games in Anaheim and Los Angeles and the first time on consecutive nights. Minnesota is 8-7-2 on the road.

Going into Sunday's games, the Wild was third in the West, but four points separated three through 11. In the Northwest, the Wild was first with 38 points. Edmonton was fifth with 34.

"We're winning, but we don't get the gap because everybody's winning and getting free points in overtime. It's crazy," center Eric Belanger said. "We have to keep winning -- bottom line."