Infants need to crawl before they can walk, which is one reason new parents get so excited when their babies become mobile – it’s the first stage on the way to better things.
Similarly, hockey players who have been injured need to begin skating on their own before they can return to practice and eventually return to the game night lineup.
For Minnesota Wild fans eagerly awaiting the return of Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov from the ailments that have limited them to cameo appearances only in the second half of the season, the hockey version of learning to crawl might be coming this week.
“I would anticipate both players will be skating in the very, very near future,” Wild coach John Hynes said prior to his team’s Tuesday night meeting with Vegas. “Probably earlier than that if possible.”
With 23 goals in 37 games, Kaprizov is still tied for the team lead with Matt Boldy, who has played 71. The Russian superstar has played in just three games since Christmas, and he was shut down roughly two months ago to surgically repair the lower body injury that had him playing at what Hynes estimated was 60 percent capacity.
Eriksson Ek has played in 42 games, with nine goals and 15 assists, but was shelved not long after returning from his stint with Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Both are offensive catalysts on a team that has gone through a notable scoring drought in March. But Wild general manager Bill Guerin insisted at the trade deadline that he expected both of them back in the regular season. With just 10 games left before the playoffs start after Tuesday, that may be a bit of a race to return for both players.
“I think it’s always exciting for them to be able to come back, if and when they do,” Hynes said. “They are both progressing very well. As I said, I would anticipate them hitting the ice here in very short order and get going.”
That potential good news comes on the heels of yet another injury to the defensive corps, after Declan Chisholm left Monday’s game in Dallas in the second period after blocking a shot. Hynes said Chisholm is currently day to day, as is forward Marcus Foligno, who missed his fifth consecutive game on Tuesday.
For the second time in three days, the Wild recalled defenseman Cameron Crotty on an emergency basis from Iowa. He warmed up but did not play, and then was officially sent back down before the game started. Jonas Brodin, who stayed home from the trip to Texas and is taking his return from injury carefully, was back in the lineup on Tuesday.
“If he wasn’t ready to play, he wouldn’t be playing,” Hynes said when asked about Brodin, who he has classified as day to day as well. “Now, in saying that, the intensity level of the games and things like that are hard. So you do have to see how the player responds to coming off of a long=term injury and then and then coming in.”
Milestone watch
Tuesday’s contest versus Vegas was the 300th career game for Wild defenseman Jake Middleton and the 400th for forward Freddy Gaudreau. In addition, goalie Filip Gustavsson got a nice ovation from the crowd when his NHL First Star of the Week honor was acknowledged early in the game.
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