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The Minnesota Wild are dealing with a world of hurt, but there are some good news compared to the hellish update we had to give out on Friday.
Let’s not waste your time and get straight into what head coach Dean Evason told the media prior to Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals.
Brodin won’t play tonight with an upper body injury. Evason not exactly giving a timetable other than he won’t play for a week, for sure (wild don’t play again til next Friday). I’m hearing it’s serious enough to be potentially long term. Blocked a shot in Boston
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 8, 2022
Forget what I said about good news (that might be later) — top defenseman Jonas Brodin blocked a shot against the Boston Bruins and did not leave the game so we were none the wiser about a potential injury. Now, Evason isn’t saying anything but Brodin will be out for more than a week, making him miss the upcoming games against the Capitals and next Friday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. Michael Russo is hearing it can be long-term, so that’s just fantastic. Whatever.
Another update:
Joel Eriksson Ek is skating this morning with the #mnwild.
— Sarah McLellan (@sarah__mclellan) January 8, 2022
The good stuff! Joel Eriksson Ek is ahead of schedule and is skating again. Evason said that they’re hoping for him to be back on the ice against the Ducks, but it’s helpful that there is a long stretch without any games for him to get that much-needed practice time in. That is a big boost to a Wild forward core that is missing some key talent.
Speaking of, there is no certain timeframe for the length of Kirill Kaprizov’s injury that he suffered in Boston, but just that Evason hopes he’s back in the lineup for when they play next (against Anaheim).
Let’s do some rapid fire:
- Brandon Duhaime has cleared COVID protocols and, if he makes it to St. Paul from his quarantine in Boston in time for the game against the Capitals, he will play.
- Jordan Greenway has not cleared COVID protocols, so he’s still out.
- Cam Talbot will skate this upcoming week, but still no timeframe for his return.
- Jared Spurgeon is already back skating, but not with the team in practice. We shall see if he can follow Eriksson Ek’s footsteps and be back in time for next Friday, but maybe they’ll hold off and have him come back for the road trip that sees them playing the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks the week after.
- No new update on Nick Bjugstad, who still remains to be out for at least six weeks with a hand injury.
That’s it! Some good news and some bad news, as promised. At least we get to make memories with Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi at this time.
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