Ilya Bryzgalov isn’t the man the Minnesota Wild had planned on using as their starting goaltender in the playoffs. They’ve gone with him in the second round against Chicago because netminders Darcy Kuemper, Niklas Backstrom, and Josh Harding have all been hurt.
He’s had some rough outings in the playoffs too, but Wild coach Mike Yeo has stood by him.
“After Game 2 (three goals on 21 shots), there were a lot of questions, (but) we believed in Bryz,” Yeo said, per the Calgary Sun. “We knew what he was capable of, but the questions start to grow in numbers and the attention towards that continues to grow.”
He rewarded Minnesota with a 19-save shutout on Tuesday. It’s something for him to build off of and the Wild to rally around.
“He didn’t get tested a lot last game, but when he did, he made some really big saves,” Wild forward Zach Parise said. “I know he made a big one on (Jonathan) Toews in the third period that could have changed the game around. You need those saves right now.”
Minnesota just has to hope that Bryzgalov’s got another solid performance ahead of him because unless something changes, he’s all they’ve got.
