The Wild have been with out famous person winger Kirill Kaprizov for the reason that vacation break with a lower-body concern. It’s prompted him to overlook 4 video games and can maintain him out for at the least yet one more, though basic supervisor Bill Guerin says they’ll maintain him sidelined for so long as the group wants to permit him to recuperate totally.
“The factor is that we don’t need him to come back again and push by way of,” Guerin advised Michael Russo of The Athletic on Thursday. “He might, nevertheless it might make one thing worse.”
As Guerin relayed, the Wild have already been burned as soon as this season by a participant returning too quickly into their restoration from a groin drawback — which Kaprizov is imagined to have, however Guerin wouldn’t verify. Depth winger Jakub Lauko sustained a groin damage in opposition to the Jets on Nov. 25 and returned to the lineup after lacking six video games, however reaggravated the muscle concern lower than every week later and stays on injured reserve with no return date on the horizon.
“We want [Kaprizov] for the lengthy haul,” Guerin continued. “We don’t simply want him for a pair video games in January. We want him to get wholesome and really feel higher, so we’re attempting to do the appropriate factor and simply take a look at it from the lengthy viewpoint.”
Earlier than his damage, Kaprizov was monitoring to complete within the prime 10 in Hart Trophy voting for the second time in his profession. The dynamic-as-ever 27-year-old stays fifth within the league with 1.47 factors per recreation after notching 23 objectives and 27 assists for 50 factors by way of 34 video games.
Twenty of these 23 objectives have come at even energy, nonetheless tied with the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl for the league lead. His +21 score can be nonetheless second amongst forwards behind the Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel (+23) regardless of his absence.
The Wild have gone 3-1-0 of their star scorer’s absence, together with a formidable 4-3 street shootout win over the Jap Convention-leading Capitals final night time. Any factors they’ll compile within the brief time period with Kaprizov and top-four defensemen Jacob Middleton and Jared Spurgeon out of the lineup are essential to their probabilities of holding onto the top-three putting within the Central Division that they’ve held for a lot of the yr.
With all of the injury-related drama surrounding Minnesota lately, they’re nonetheless in fairly an excellent place within the standings. Their 52 factors and .667 factors proportion are third within the Western Convention and second within the Central. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic’s projection mannequin nonetheless tasks them to complete with 105 factors, narrowly edging out the Avalanche and Stars to carry second place within the division, even factoring within the anticipated size of their injured gamers’ absences.
A superb portion of Minnesota’s success within the interim should be awarded to the resurgent play of netminder Filip Gustavsson, whose .924 SV% ranks third within the league amongst certified netminders after a attempting 2023-24 season. That features a .937 mark in his three begins for the reason that vacation break.
He’ll have to maintain that up with the Wild’s offense clicking at a middling 2.95 objectives per recreation, which is barely ok for twentieth within the league regardless of Kaprizov solely lacking 12.8% of their schedule up to now. Marco Rossi has been Minnesota’s prime scorer for the reason that break in Kaprizov’s absence, notching three objectives and a pair of assists in his 4 outings.
