ST PAUL, Minn. — It's always a mixed bag with the Minnesota Wild.
On Friday, the club announced that superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov is back on the active list after being out of the lineup for more than a month with a lower body injury suffered against Winnipeg March 8.
Kaprizov, one of the NHL's elite scorers and the Wild's undisputed best player, skated for the first time Tuesday and is already deemed ready to go. He will skate against the St. Louis Blues Saturday, good news since Minnesota lost forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Oskar Sundqvist to injury during Thursday night's game against Pittsburgh.
At the time of his injury, Kaprizov had notched 39 goals and 35 assists, good for 74 points in 65 games.
The injury to Eriksson Ek is most concerning as he is the Wild's best center, a pesky yet skilled player who is an essential contributor to the power play, penalty kill and 3-on-3 overtime group. Eriksson Ek has picked up 23 goals and 38 assists in 78 games. At this time he is listed as week-to-week, with the playoffs looming.
Eriksson Ek was hit in the lower leg/ankle Thursday night by a shot from Penguins center Evgeni Malkin.
Sundqvist has received solid reviews since joining the Wild at the trade deadline from Detroit. He has been an important cog on the third line, delivering a physical presence while delivering more offense than anticipated (3 goals, 4 assists in 15 games).
The Wild are currently third in the central division of the Western Conference, two points behind both Colorado and Dallas.
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