The Wild have been with out celebrity winger Kirill Kaprizov because the vacation break with a lower-body situation. It’s brought on him to overlook 4 video games and can maintain him out for a minimum of yet another, though normal supervisor Bill Guerin says they’ll maintain him sidelined for so long as the group wants to permit him to get better absolutely.
“The factor is that we don’t need him to come back again and push by,” Guerin instructed Michael Russo of The Athletic on Thursday. “He might, but it surely 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 downside — 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 situation lower than every week later and stays on injured reserve and not using a 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 making an attempt to do the proper factor and simply take a look at it from the lengthy perspective.”
Earlier than his damage, Kaprizov was monitoring to complete within the high 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 sport after notching 23 objectives and 27 assists for 50 factors by 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 ranking can also 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 highway shootout win over the Japanese Convention-leading Capitals final evening. Any factors they will compile within the quick time period with Kaprizov and top-four defensemen Jacob Middleton and Jared Spurgeon out of the lineup are essential to their possibilities of holding onto the top-three inserting 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 a superb 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.
An excellent 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 making an attempt 2023-24 season. That features a .937 mark in his three begins because the vacation break.
He’ll must maintain that up with the Wild’s offense clicking at a middling 2.95 objectives per sport, which is just adequate for twentieth within the league regardless of Kaprizov solely lacking 12.8% of their schedule up to now. Marco Rossi has been Minnesota’s high scorer because the break in Kaprizov’s absence, notching three objectives and a pair of assists in his 4 outings.
