The Minnesota Wild will aim to end a two-game losing streak and potentially regain some key players when they visit the Nashville Predators in a Central Division clash on Saturday.
Defenseman Brock Faber, who has not played since Jan. 7 due to an upper-body injury, is making the trip to Nashville and expects to play, coach John Hynes told reporters Friday. Forward Jakub Lauko, who has missed the past month because of a lower-body injury, was removed from long-term injured reserve on Thursday and practiced on Friday.
The Wild still have several others battling injuries, including leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon. Both Kaprizov, a left winger who has not played since Dec. 23, and Spurgeon, a defenseman who last played on New Year’s Eve, continue to battle lower-body injuries. However, they practiced with the team on Friday, per The Athletic.
The team moved Kaprizov to long-term injured reserve on Thursday, but he will be eligible to come off it on Saturday. While he’s not going to Nashville, Hynes told reporters he hopes Kaprizov can return to action next week.
“I think the schedule lends itself where you know these guys can get back,” Hynes said. “We’re not overloaded with games right now, but all things are trending in the right direction.”
Minnesota has battled through the injuries to remain in second place in the division entering Friday. The team is 6-4-0 in the 10 games Kaprizov has missed. On Wednesday, the Wild fell 5-3 at home to the Edmonton Oilers despite having leads of 2-0 in the first period and 3-2 in the second.
Replacing Kaprizov’s production (23 goals and 27 assists in 34 games) has been difficult. Matt Boldy has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the past 10 games. Mats Zuccarello has 13 points in the last 10 games (four goals, nine assists), including a pair of helpers in Wednesday’s loss.
The Predators, meanwhile, seek just their second three-game winning streak this season. After falling 4-1 to the Washington Capitals last Saturday to start a five-game homestand, coach Andrew Brunette’s team beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 on Tuesday and followed it up with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Filip Forsberg leads the team with 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists). The 13-year Predators veteran has netted goals in four straight contests and notched his 300th career goal in the win against Chicago.
Nashville is also starting to get production from a key offseason acquisition. Forward Steven Stamkos (15 goals, 14 assists) is fourth on the team with 29 points in 44 games. The former Tampa Bay Lightning star, 34, has registered six of those goals in the last 10 games, including a pair against Vegas and another against the Blackhawks.
Brunette told reporters after Wednesday’s victory that it’s not surprising to see Forsberg and Stamkos improving at the same time.
“I think (Forsberg) took it upon himself a little bit selflessly being the playmaker, and I give him a world of credit too for getting Stammer and (forward Jonathan Marchessault) they all kind of got going together,” Brunette said.
Second on the team with 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 44 games, Marchessault has scored 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) over his last 16 contests. He’s assisted on a goal in each of the last six games.
Nashville’s veteran forwards will need to continue that level of play if the team is to get back in the playoff race. Entering Friday, the Predators were 12 points behind Calgary for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 38 games left and five teams ahead of them in the standings.
–Field Level Media
