The Minnesota Wild were already without Jonas Brodin when they took on the Montréal Canadiens, Thursday evening, Nov. 14. That injury was just the beginning however as the Wild would lose two more forwards before the end of the first period. Mats Zuccarello was the first to go down after he got in the way of a Brock Faber slap shot from the point.
He took the shot to the groin area and could barely skate off the ice under his own power. He went down the tunnel and was later announced that he would not return to the game due to a lower-body injury.
While everyone in the arena saw that injury happen live, the other forward who was injured, Joel Eriksson Ek, wasn’t as obvious. He seemed fine as he left the ice from a shift but didn’t return, and it was announced at the same time as Zuccarello that he would not return due to a lower-body injury as well.
This is a big blow to a team that had done pretty well to avoid injuries, with a just few minor ones this season. The Wild had been prepared to be without Brodin and had brought up a defenseman in preparation. However, losing Zuccarello and Eriksson Ek meant they had to play with just 10 forwards for the second and third periods.
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Hopefully, both players aren’t out long. They are key pieces to the Wild’s lineup, and they don’t want a repeat of last season. If the injuries are serious, the rest of the team must dig deep to find a way to play without two huge pieces of their lineup.
