Backstrom's 35 saves help Flames to comeback win over Wild

In what might have been his final NHL contest, former Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom returned to his home of 10 seasons and had what very well could have been a storybook ending.

Six weeks after being traded from the Wild to the Calgary Flames, the 38-year-old Backstrom made 35 saves, was named first star and was saluted with a heartwarming ovation from Wild fans after a 2-1 season-ending victory over his former team.

"If this is the end, it was a great way to end," an emotional Backstrom said.

With tears in his eyes, Backstrom said there's a chance at least the NHL portion of his career is over.

"I still love the game, I still love the work, I still love to be with the guys," Backstrom, the winningest goalie in Wild history, said. "But you never know. We'll see. I'll take a little time here. It's hockey. There's a lot of other things in life, too.

"It was fun to play a good game again."

As planned, Devan Dubnyk and Darcy Kuemper split the game for the Wild. Dubnyk stopped all six shots he saw during 30 minutes, 6 seconds of work. Then Kuemper, clinging to a 1-0 lead late in the third, gave up goals on back-to-back shots 31 seconds apart.

"I don't like to say, 'one player this, one player that' but we've got to have all 20 players going and that's the bottom line," frustrated coach John Torchetti said. "We don't have all 20 players going here."

Torchetti liked everything about the Wild's game the first 40 minutes. The Wild outshot the Flames 24-5 at one point, but Backstrom kept the game scoreless until the Wild's 27th shot 33 minutes in.

It was Backstrom's 212th start and 223rd game at Xcel Energy Center and a fitting potential finish to his career after being shelled in his return to St. Paul late last month.

"Very special," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "It was a well-deserved reward for him. He was the only guy who kept us in the game."

Saturday was the last chance for bubble players to prove to Torchetti they warrant a spot in the Game 1 lineup.

Chris Porter, who took Zach Parise's spot on the Mikael Granlund line as Parise rested an upper-body injury, was "outstanding," Torchetti said. Zac Dalpe, playing his second game, played fourth-line center in place of veteran Jarret Stoll and scored his first goal with the Wild and 11th of his career in 119 games. Ryan Carter, playing for the first time since March 19, got into a couple of skirmishes and assisted on Dalpe's goal with a great pass from his buttocks. He was playing for Jordan Schroeder.

Defenseman Christian Folin played for Nate Prosser and assisted on Dalpe's goal, as well. Rookie Mike Reilly is expected to be recalled from AHL Iowa at the latest by next weekend, but the 6-3 Folin gives the Wild a big blue-liner with a heavy shot.