Injuries piling up for Wild ahead of home opener
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - The Minnesota Wild will be playing shorthanded for a while after three more of their players were injured during Thursday night's 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Wild started the game with only 11 of their 13 forwards as Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund were both sidelined with injuries. By the end of the third period, they were down to only eight.
Marcus Foligno suffered a facial fracture during a second-period fight with Chicago's John Hayden. Charlie Coyle was hit in the leg by a shot in the third period. Nino Niedereitter left the ice a short time later after another player fell on his leg.
At least four of the five injured forwards will miss Saturday's home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Wild confirmed Coyle has a fractured fibula. He has been placed on long-term injured reserve after undergoing surgery on Friday and will be out for six to eight weeks. Niedereitter was placed on injured reserve with a sprained ankle, which will keep him out for at least three weeks.
Foligno was not placed on injured reserve, but underwent surgery on Friday for a facial fracture. He will miss at least one week.
Parise, who missed the first three games of the season due to an undisclosed injury, participated in a light practice on Friday. He is hopeful he'll be back for the team's two games next week, but is not putting a timetable on his return.
“It’s a really fun game to play in [the home opener], so I’m hoping I’ll be there," Parise said. "If not, I’ll be watching but it will be disappointing if it doesn’t happen.”
Granlund will be out for two more games.
With Coyle on long-term injured reserve, the Wild have the salary cap space they need to recall players from the Iowa Wild to fill out their lineup.
The Wild already recalled Luke Kunin from Iowa earlier in the day and sent defenseman Mike Reilly back to the AHL. The club is expected to recall up to three more forwards from Iowa before its
home opener against the Blue Jackets on Saturday, according to a news release. The puck drops at the Xcel Energy Center at 7 p.m.