Backup goalie beats Hawks

The Blackhawks might have thought they were catching a break Sunday night when Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire started backup goalie Josh Harding instead of all-star Niklas Backstrom.

Backstrom got the night off after making 35 saves Saturday in a 5-2 win over Detroit, but Harding might have been even better, beating the Hawks 2-1 with 44 saves. Harding came into the game with a 1-7-1 record.

"Josh Harding was fantastic," Lemaire said. "Chicago has a lot of talent. I never thought we'd be able to beat Detroit and Chicago back to back. They are two of the three best teams in the conference."

Harding's best save was his lunging glove stop on Troy Brouwer during a 5-on-3 power play early in the second period with half the net open.

"It was luck on that desperate shot, but I'll certainly take it," Harding said.

The Hawks wished they had some of those 44 chances back to bear down harder.

"He made some nice saves," Duncan Keith said. "He was in the right spot a lot of times and there were other times where I think we should bury it."

The win moved the Wild into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but tough times could be ahead. After hosting Los Angeles on Tuesday, Minnesota plays 14 of its next 17 games on the road.

Injury report: Hawks defenseman Cam Barker had to leave the game in the second period after blocking a shot.

"He should be fine," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "I don't think it's going to be serious. He stiffened up there and it was tough to do."

Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, out since Feb. 11 with a lower body injury, might return to practice later in the week.

"We're looking maybe at the latter part of the week," Quenneville said.

Cristobal Huet's start Sunday was his sixth straight.

Probert honored: Bob Probert, the Hawks' last great enforcer, was recognized by the organization Sunday night by dropping the ceremonial first puck. Probert played for the Hawks from 1995-2002 and finished his career with 235 fights and 162 goals. Probert's 3,300 career penalty minutes ranks fifth all time in the NHL.

Tip-ins: Aaron Johnson was again the Hawks' long healthy scratch. ... The Hawks had a good night on faceoffs, winning 54 percent with Jonathan Toews and Dave Bolland a combined 18-11. ... Martin Havlat's assist extended his points scoring streak to five games (2-7-9). ... Minnesota's Andrew Brunette sat for the second straight game with a lower body injury. Missing Saturday's game against Detroit ended Brunette's consecutive games streak to 509, which was the longest in the NHL.