ST. LOUIS – It would have been easy for Mike Yeo to give goaltender Darcy Kuemper a couple of mental days off and save him for Saturday's pivotal tilt at Phoenix.
But one night after pulling Kuemper in a loss to Vancouver, the Wild coach threw the rookie into the lion's den Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues. Kuemper gave up five goals on 24 shots in a 5-1 loss and has now given up at least three goals in six of his last eight starts.
"He battled through a very tough game," Yeo said. "He put a lot on himself in this game, and that's a good thing. I'll be honest, I feel bad for him. I do. This is a guy, we wouldn't even be sitting here in the position that we're in if he didn't give us the stretch of hockey that he's given us."
But the team decided sticking with Kuemper would be a huge development moment for the 23-year-old.
"Good goalies have games when they're not at their best, they have stretches when they're not at their best, but good goalies find a way to bounce back, find a way to get on top of their game," Yeo said before the game. "That's his challenge. This is as important to his development as a player as it is to our team."
That's because not only does the Wild have to figure out if Kuemper has the ability to be its No. 1 goalie next season, the team must decide whether he has what it takes if the Wild makes the playoffs.
"Coming in against a team like St. Louis, in their building, coming off the heels of a tough game, these are the kind of emotions and things that can get in your head that you have to deal with [in the postseason]," Yeo said. "For a goalie to be successful in the playoffs, they have to be able to deal with that stuff.
"He's shown that he has the mental makeup. … If it was lightning in a bottle the way he was playing earlier, then we'd be scared. But we know that he's going to get back to that level."
