It was a good-news, bad-news kind of Friday for the Minnesota Wild.
On the good news side, leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov will return to the lineup Saturday against the St. Louis Blues after missing a full month with a lower-body injury.
Kaprizov carried the offence for the Wild this season, leading the way with 39 goals and 74 points before his injury. But the team was able to stay afloat without him, going 7-3-3 in that span to remain just two points behind the Avalanche and Stars for first in the Central Divison. The Wild have four games remaining, including two next week against wild-card hopefuls Winnipeg and Nashville.
On the bad-news front, the Wild announced top centre Joel Eriksson Ek is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek was hurt during Thursday's loss to the Penguins reportedly after blocking a shot. He is tied for third in team scoring with 61 points and is the team's most-used face-off man.
Additionally, centre Oskar Sundqvist — acquired at the trade deadline to provide depth down the middle — also left the Penguins game with a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
