The Minnesota Wild got the kind of update they were hoping for before heading to Washington.
Joel Eriksson Ek was back on the ice for Saturday’s practice, then head coach John Hynes made it sound like there won’t be any drama about his status for Sunday’s matchup with the Capitals.
“full practice today, so he should be good to go”
That’s a welcome development for a Wild team that has leaned hard on its top center early this season. Minnesota enters the game at 9-3-3 with 21 points through 15 games, good for first place in the Western Conference, and now opens a two-game road trip with a 2:15 p.m.
CT puck-drop in Washington. The trip wraps up Tuesday in Philadelphia.
Eriksson Ek’s availability had been in question after Thursday’s overtime loss to the Islanders in St. Paul.
The Wild led that game 1-0 just 27 seconds in when he scored his fifth goal of the season, but the night turned uneasy later on. With the score tied and a little more than four minutes left in the third period, Eriksson Ek drew a power play after Adam Pelech tripped him.
Ten seconds into that man advantage, he took a Max Shabanov shot off the outside of his right knee, went down right away and eventually had to be helped down the tunnel. He did come back after missing about five minutes and finished the game.
On Friday, he was being evaluated by doctors, and there was some concern because he has a history of returning after getting banged up, only to end up on the shelf afterward.
Saturday’s practice eased that worry. Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that Eriksson Ek was on the ice and back in his spot on the first line.
Smith’s practice look had him centering Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, with Michael McCarron between Blake Coleman and Bobby Brink on the second line. Minnesota also kept its all-Russian third line together with Shabanov, Danila Yurov and Yakov Trenin.
The rest of the forward group had Nico Sturm, Ryan Hartman and Tyler Pitlick on the third line in Smith’s report, while the defense pairs were Quinn Hughes and Jonas Brodin, Olli Maatta and Zach Bogosian, and Matt Kiersted and David Spacek. Smith also reported that Jesper Wallstedt will start in Washington.
Eriksson Ek’s numbers help explain why the Wild were eager to get him back. He has 12 points, including five goals and seven assists, in 15 games, and he’s been skating mostly with Kaprizov and Boldy. His plus-9 rating reflects how well that trio has worked together, and he’ll take the ice in D.C. having scored in three straight games.
Russo noted earlier in the week that NHL Edge data showed Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Boldy leading the league with a 72 percent expected goals share when they’re on the ice together. Eriksson Ek also leads the NHL with 30 high-danger shots.
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