Down 0-2 against the undefeated Avalanche, Minnesota faces a roster crisis as blue-liner Jonas Brodin remains sidelined while the team awaits a crucial decision on Joel Eriksson Ek.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild (4-4) is back in action on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche (6-0) for Game 3.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin have both missed the first two games and the Wild have lost both of them.
They are getting outscored 9-7 at even strength and the Wild's special teams have been nonexistant.
Their absences have been missed.
On Friday, after practice, Wild head coach John Hynes confirmed that Brodin be out for Game 3.
Eriksson Ek, 29, had 19 goals and 51 points in 70 games during the regular season. He had three goals, two assists, five points and 15 hits in six round one games.
Brodin, 32, had one assist and 14 blocked shots in round one. In Game 5 he took a shot off the foot from Mikko Rantanen and did not play Game 6. He has been out since.
The good news is Eriksson Ek was on the ice on Friday for practice. He did not skate in rushes though. Hynes said they will see if he can play. The plan was for him to get on the ice and work things through.
Hynes said they will trust Eriksson Ek if he thinks he can play a full game or not.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
