Critical homestand ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Wild activated defenseman Jonas Brodin from long-term injured reserve on Monday, the team announced ahead of their clash with the New York Islanders tonight inside Xcel Energy Center. Brodin has missed the past 17 games after sustaining an upper-body injury in Edmonton on Dec. 8. In his absence, the Wild have gone 8-8-1. “He’s worked really hard on his rehab,” coach John Hynes said of Brodin, “and obviously it’s nice to have him back — such a good player and key part of the team, so excited to have him.” The only way Brodin can play is if Jared Spurgeon (lower-body injury) moves from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve, or the Wild send down three players. That's unless Vinni Lettieri is moved to long-term injured reserve, but that would mean they would still need to send down two players. Regardless, Brodin's return to the lineup is another piece of good news for the Wild, who got Kirill Kaprizov and Filip Gustavsson back in Saturday night's loss to the Arizona Coyotes. Brodin, who has nine points in 25 games with a +7 rating, has an average 23:59 time-on-ice total this season and has been one of the Wild's best defenders. With the smooth-skating left-shot defender on the ice, the team has allowed 1.96 expected goals against per 60, according to Natural Stat Trick, which is the best mark among Wild defenders. The Wild have also outscored the opposition 23-15 with Brodin on the ice at five-on-five this season. In addition to Brodin, Hynes said Daemon Hunt is drawing into the lineup tonight. The 21-year-old left-shot defender has played 10 games so far with the Wild this season. Veteran defensemen Alex Goligoski and Jon Merrill are healthy scratches. REQUIRED READING
