One thing you have to say about the Minnesota Wild in their attempt to be competitive in the Western Conference is that they have really transformed their team over the past few years by acquiring some top-level NHL talent along with mixing in their fine young talent which was all supposed to complement their strong point, their goaltending. Who would know that their goaltending would come apart at the seams last year with last year's starter Niklas Backstrom falling to injury, and Josh Harding succumbing to his MS illness? Harding in fact had been posting spectacular numbers with a 1.65 GAA and a .933 SP until he was stricken again.  It all was going right for the Wild until they lost Harding.  Backstrom had been playing decent when Harding went down but re-injured himself opening the door for rookie Darcy Kuemper. The rookie goaltender had only 6 games of NHL experience in 2012-2013 before being thrust into the role of Number 1 with the injuries to both Backstrom and Harding last year. His play wasn't consistent enough for the Wild as they pushed to make the playoffs, thereby forcing the Wild to trade for a veteran goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov who had signed on with the Edmonton Oilers in November.  In his new role as the Wild's No. 1, Kuemper posted a 2.43 GAA and a .915 SP which weren't terrible, but as I've said earlier, he lacked consistency which is something you would expect from a rookie goaltender. Fast-forward to training camp 2014. Minnesota was all set to start the season with Backstrom and Harding and let Kuemper work on some things in the minors.  However, Harding broke his foot and was suspended by the team making way for Kuemper to start the season with the big club.  The thought was to platoon the two until either one got on a roll.  Kuemper was chosen as the starter for the home opener against Colorado and pitched a shutout. In fact, he played so well that he got the nod in the back end of the home-and-home series with the Avalanche and proceeded to blank them again.  To begin the season with two shutouts against last year's darlings, the Colorado Avalanche is very impressive indeed.  Wow! Even before pitching those back-to-back shutouts, the road was paved for Kuemper to be the number one goaltender in Minnesota when Harding went down to the broken foot. Backstrom only had two good years with the Minnesota Wild and that was back in 2007-2008 & 2008-2009. In those two years he posted 33 and 37 wins respectively, with good metrics.  He did manage to win 24 games in the 48-game 2012-2013 Lockout season, but his metrics were slipping at that point. With Backstrom's performance slipping and him also getting on in years, he will turn 37 in February, all signs pointed to Kuemper getting the chance to seize the starter's role with the Wild, if only he could establish some consistency. With 2 wins, both shutouts, already this year, I believe the Minnesota Wild will give Kuemper every opportunity to solidify his spot as Minnesota's number 1 goalie. POST-MARKS: Just have to keep telling yourself that it is so early in the season and not to get frustrated by some of the starts your fantasy goaltenders have gotten off to.  Steve Mason & the Philadelphia Flyers seem to be duplicating their start of last season but they are playing with a bit more toughness this year and should turn things around sooner than later. If you look at Mason's metrics, GAA of 3.59 and a SP of .879, you have to be pulling your hair out a little bit as it is not the start you were expecting.  The Flyers are committed to Mason and he will turn it around, this team is too good for him not to.  Perhaps this is the time to get Mason on the cheap from a frustrated owner.  Don't look to me as I will hold on to the 26-year old as I believe the Flyers will challenge for the Eastern Conference title......You would think having won the Stanley Cup as a rookie with the Chicago Blackhawks and then proceeding to win 34+ games in a season 3 times and winning 24 of 43 starts in the Lockout season for the San Jose Sharks that you would have a little bit more job security. Antti Niemi has heard the buzz all summer long and in training camp that the Sharks will take a good, long look at backup Alex Stalock. The reason being is that Niemi will become an Unrestricted Free Agent come July 1st unless they extend his contract. If I was a Niemi holder, I would grab Stalock as a handcuff just in case and wait for this to play out over the course of the season.  Both posted shutouts in their first starts, so this can get very interesting.  Reminds me of the Nabokov-Toskala bout in 2006-2007....Sergei Bobrovsky just might make a run at another Vezina with the way he's been playing despite all the injuries the Columbus Blue Jackets have incurred to start the season. They are tough to play against now.  Wait until they have their full lineup in...Ottawa's G Robin Lehner could steal the starter's job this year with a few more solid starts. Craig Anderson hasn't been very consistent throughout his career.