Wild head coach John Hynes said yesterday that Joel Eriksson Ek won't travel with the team to St. Louis.
ST. PAUL - The Wild played without center Joel Eriksson Ek against the Anaheim Ducks last night and will be without him for their next game as well.
Wild head coach John Hynes said he would not travel with the team to St. Louis but he didn't rule out the possibility of Eriksson Ek meeting the team in California for the road trip.
"He is not gonna go to St. Louis but I don't have any update on the California," Hynes said on Eriksson Ek. But couldn't he just fly commercial to meet the team later? "Yeah, exactly."
Ryan Hartman was the Wild's first-line center in Eriksson Ek's absence and will continue to be after his good game against the Ducks.
"Yeah, it's nice for Ryan. He's gone through some struggles but the style of game that he's playing right now; he's an impact player, he's skating, he's making plays, he's hard on pucks, and he's an offensive threat. So it's nice and he's handled some good ice time now," Hynes said on Hartman. "He is an extreme competitor and he was going through some struggles, but right now, I think he's pleased he's playing his best right now when it matters the most."
Marat Khusnutdinov made his NHL debut yesterday and looked great so the Wild are in good shape in the short term without Eriksson Ek.
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