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Wild hoping to contain Crosby, Penguins

Oct 30, 2007 - 1:22 PM Pittsburgh (5-4-1) at Minnesota (7-2-2) 7:00 pm EDT

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) - The injuries are really beginning to pile up for the Minnesota Wild.

Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik, and goaltender Niklas Backstrom are all hampered by groin injuries as the Wild host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Demitra and Gaborik have combined for four goals and 16 points this season, but the most significant loss would be if Backstrom is out any significant amount of time.

Josh Harding is a solid backup, but he will not provide the kind of consistency that the 29-year-old Backstrom does. The Finnish netminder is 5-1-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average and .923 save percentage this season.

Last season, Backstrom was influencial in the Wild's run to the postseason. He went 23-8-6 with a league-leading 1.97 GAA and five shutouts.

With Harding or the recently called up Nolan Schaefer in the crease, Minnesota will have a tough time containing a potent Pittsburgh offense led by reigning Hart Trophy winner Sidney Crosby.

The 20-year-old Crosby will look to continue his nine-game points streak as he has registered at least a point in every game since the season opener. The youngest captain in NHL history has four goals and a team-leading 13 points.

Crosby will be joined by second-year pro Evgeni Malkin and the newly-acquired Petr Sykora on the Penguins' attack. Malkin is tied with Crosby for the team lead in points and Sykora leads the club with five goals.

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is 4-4-0 with a 3.50 GAA and one shutout this season.