Minnesota Wild veterans Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek are getting closer to returning from injuries, but they are not ready yet.
That means the Wild will have to keep pushing toward the playoffs without two of their leaders when they face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn.
The players’ return — and a playoff berth for Minnesota — are within reach.
“If it was up to those two, they’d be here tomorrow,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. “But (we’ve) got to play it smart. The big picture, we have to think about that. It’s a positive seeing those two guys out there.”
Minnesota (41-27-5, 87 points) is looking for back-to-back wins after beating the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Thursday night. The Wild would have a wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference if the season ended now.
Meanwhile, New Jersey (38-29-7, 83 points) also has the postseason on its mind as the regular season winds down. The Devils hold the third and final divisional playoff spot in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division, but they cannot afford their late slump to linger.
New Jersey will look to bounce back from a 4-0 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. The outcome dropped the Devils to 1-3-1 in their past five games.
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said he liked his players’ effort but cited a few key breakdowns that ultimately cost his team. Keefe said he wants to see better production.
“We’ve got to create more offense,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Devils forward Dawson Mercer is expected to play after he caught a stick to the face against the Jets. Mercer was bleeding after the hit and exited the game for treatment.
“He’s going to be ugly for a little while, but he’s fine,” Keefe said.
The action on the ice also could be ugly as teams turn toward a tighter, more defensive-minded strategy with the playoffs so close.
Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin said he and his teammates are looking at the end of the regular season as something to embrace rather than feeling significant pressure.
“Just take it day-to-day and enjoy the challenge,” Brodin said. “We have teams behind us fighting for a playoff spot, and we’re in a playoff spot right now. We’ve just got to keep working and take it day-by-day every game.”
New Jersey likely will turn to Jacob Markstrom in net one night after Jake Allen started against Winnipeg. Markstrom is 23-14-6 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in 44 games this season.
In 13 career games against the Wild, he is 7-3-2 with a 2.24 GAA and a .925 save percentage.
Minnesota is expected to start Filip Gustavsson in net. He is 29-16-4 with a 2.46 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 50 games, and he is 2-1-0 with a 2.55 GAA and a .930 save percentage in three career games against New Jersey.
This will be the first game of a home-and-home set between the teams. After Saturday’s game in Minnesota, they will travel east to meet again on Monday night in Newark, N.J.
–Field Level Media
