The Minnesota Wild has added another player to their injured list. Joel Eriksson Ek has not been listed as week to week with a lower-body injury. The Centre had success playing for Sweden in the Four Nations Tournament but is now sitting on the sidelines.
Eriksson Ek was injured Monday morning during the Wild’s practice and has made the IR. He had just finished the tournament and was back to playing in the regular season when he was injured. He had assisted teammate Marco Rossi on his overtime game-winning goal against the Red Wings on Saturday.
Eriksson Ek had made it through the entire practice on Monday. Head Coach John Hynes had not noticed any occurrence or issue during the practice that would indicate an injury. It was not until Eriksson Ek had gone to trainers for discomfort and was evaluated that they pulled him. At this moment there is no clear report as to what exactly he is facing. He has missed 15 games this season with four different injuries.
Due to being placed on the IR, he will miss the next four games for the Wild. The severity as mentioned is still unknown but it seems that the centre could be out longer. No set word has been released.
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This injury comes at an unfortunate time for the franchise. The Wild are facing the loss of Kirill Kaprizov who has been injured since late December. Kaprizov was expected to make his return here shortly, but his timeline has since been pushed further back.
Without Kaprizov or Eriksson Ek in the line up the Wild will need to continue to step up going forward. The Wild have 25 games left in their season and are sitting third in the Central Division with 72 points. At this point in the season, they are playoff-bound, but only if they can keep their momentum.
The Wild are facing other issues among their roster. As of now, Ryan Hartman is still out on his eight-game suspension from his actions directed at Tim Strutzle. Hartman remains on the 23-man roster which puts the team in a tight spot with their salary cap. If Eriksson Ek’s injury is worse than expected, there is a chance he could be moved to long-term IR. This would open cap space for the Wild to make a beneficial trade.
Due to Hartman still being listed on the roster and preventing limited movement. It looks as if the Wild will replace Eriksson Ek with Jakub Lauko who has returned from his injury. He was recently activated off the IR and will face the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. He has missed 24 of the last 36 games due to his lower-body injury.
Kaprizov remains the team’s top points leader even after being out after his surgery. Matt Boldy has stepped up and has continued to rack up the points and help the team find a win. Boldy is the second points leader for the Wild with 21 goals and 29 assists. In their recent game against Detroit, he not only scored but also assisted on Vinnie Hinostroza’s second-period goal.
The Wild has seen improvement in their fourth line. They have provided the team with a higher level of competitiveness and depth in scoring. Their drive to play hard during their games has neutralized the team’s lack of offensive skill as of late.
The Wild have had an unfortunate year with injuries and now suspensions among their players. The upside of these struggles is that the team has truly stepped up and filled the missing holes. Their determination to push forward, play more competitively and work as a team is working for their success.
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