Niklas Backstrom

This time, Niklas Backstrom made it through warm-ups without any injuries. It was the start of one nice night for the goalie and the Minnesota Wild. Backstrom made 33 saves in his first win of the season and the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series.

Nino Niederreiter and Zach Parise scored for Minnesota with the first two shots of the season against Carolina fill-in goalie Justin Peters, and the Wild beat the Hurricanes 3-1 on Thursday night despite losing their own starting goalie to injury.

Filip Forsberg and Colin Wilson scored power-play goals 39 seconds apart in the first period, and the Nashville Predators earned their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in their home opener.

Mathieu Perreault scored at 4:55 of overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Sam Atkinson and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist, and a Columbus Blue Jackets split squad beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 in a preseason game Tuesday night.

The Minnesota Wild wasted no time settling their goaltending situation for the next few seasons. Niklas Backstrom made the decision a lot easier for them. The Wild re-signed Backstrom to a three-year, $10.25 million contract on Monday, keeping the veteran from becoming an unrestricted free agent next month.

Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom has undergone sports hernia surgery.

Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom and defenseman Clayton Stoner did not practice on Thursday, increasing the possibility they will be unavailable for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Devin Setoguchi broke a second-period tie and Niklas Backstrom stopped 29 shots, helping the Minnesota Wild secure their first playoff spot in five years with a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

Logan Couture and Marty Havlat did much more than just shut down Minnesota's top line. They dominated the score sheet for San Jose, as well. Couture and Havlat each scored two goals and the Sharks closed in on a ninth straight playoff berth, beating the Wild 6-1 on Thursday night.