ST. LOUIS — The Wild will play the Blues on Tuesday night without top center Joel Eriksson Ek and captain Jared Spurgeon, both of whom will miss their second consecutive game because of injury.
Neither traveled here for the game. The Wild recalled defenseman Daemon Hunt from Iowa Monday night, and he’ll make his season debut if the Wild are forced to play seven defensemen and 11 forwards. That would be the case if second-line wing Marcus Johansson can’t play because of a lower body injury. He sat out the morning skate.
Eriksson Ek had his nose broken by an elbow in Saturday’s 5-4 shootout loss to Seattle. He was expected to play against the Blues but head coach John Hynes that expectation has shifted to Saturday against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
“I would assume that based on what I know, he’ll be up and running when we get back,” Hynes said. After a day off Wednesday, the Wild will hold a free outdoor practice in St. Louis Park on Thursday.
Spurgeon’s status is less clear.
Out with a lower body injury, Spurgeon was assessed by doctors and deemed unavailable for Tuesday night’s game. He also stayed in Minnesota. The Wild called the defenseman day to day before Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss at Winnipeg, and Hynes was asked Tuesday if he still considers that the case.
“Right now I do, yeah,” he said.
Spurgeon, 34, missed all but 16 games last season because of shoulder, hip and back injuries. The latter two required season-ending surgery in February and March, and the Wild believed the longtime captain would be ready to go this season. He went through a full training camp and played in two preseason games.
“We’ll probably know more when we get back,” Hynes said.
The Wild were beset by injuries to several key players, and at several junctures last season and failed to make the playoffs. Their 5-10-2 start had them chasing from the start, and the team never recovered. So far, players say, there’s no concern of that happening again.
The Wild (1-0-2) earned a point in Winnipeg on Sunday without Eriksson Ek and Spurgeon, and it appears they also might be without Johansson, who had two assists in the opener, against the Blues.
“You’ve got to find ways to get points when you’re up against it. … I thought we did a really good job of that (in Winnipeg), which is what I want to see with our team,” Hynes said. “The mindset, the competitiveness, the fight, pushing through fatigue, finding a way to either win the game or get a point out of the game when you’re up against it.”
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