The Minnesota Wild continue their three-game road trip Friday night against the Washington Capitals before facing the New Jersey Devils Sunday afternoon. The Wild hope they can have more inspiring performances than Thursday night's 6-2 loss in Philadelphia.
The Wild currently sit in the second wild card spot with a 3-3-1 record through seven games. Colorado, Dallas and Winnipeg have the top three spots in the Central Division, and St. Louis hold the No. 1 wild card spot.
"We're not trending in the right direction," head coach Dean Evason told the media postgame in Philadelphia.
The good news is the Wild haven't had a healthy lineup because injuries have piled up early. The start hasn't been ideal and they've had some alarming trends and have reflecting to do, but the Wild could be off to a worse start than .500.
The Wild have desperately missed their captain and top blueliner Jared Spurgeon, who still hasn't played a game yet this season as well as their 30-goal scorer in Matt Boldy who has only played two games. Alex Goligoski is on long-term injured reserve, and Freddy Gaudreau is out with an injury.
The Wild have had to mix up lines and make call-ups early this season. Both Vinni Lettieri and Jujhar Khaira have made their Wild debuts, and Dakota Mermis has stepped up with two goals and four points in five games.
Here are some injury updates via The Athletic:
• Gaudreau didn't make the trip to Philadelphia with an upper-body injury. The 30-year-old has struggled to start the season with zero points through six games alongside Marcus Foligno and rookie Marco Rossi on the third line.
Gaudreau has dealt with a lingering issue since former Wild forward Ryan Reaves hit him hard midway through the first period in Toronto on Oct. 14. The Wild have no timeline for his return.
• Spurgeon and Boldy remain out with upper-body injuries. The Wild retroactively placed Spurgeon on long-term injured reserve so they could afford to recall Khaira, so the earliest Spurgeon can return is Nov. 4 when the Wild face the New York Rangers at home.
That is because Spurgeon now has to reach the 10-game, 24-day threshold that LTIR requires a player to miss. Evason told The Athletic Spurgeon is progressing, and they're hoping he can start practicing with the team next week.
Boldy didn't make the trip to Philadelphia or Washington D.C., and Evason said it's unlikely the 22-year-old will join them in New Jersey.
"Where and when they slot in, I don't know yet," Evason said. "But both are on the ice. Both are skating. Both are shooting. Both are handling the puck, so we're getting close."