Joel Eriksson Ek is officially day to day with a lower-body injury, according to Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes.
That's a big sigh of relief for the Wild, who cannot afford to lose their best two-way player as they battle for a wild card spot in the Western Conference playoff race. Entering play Thursday, Minnesota is tied with St. Louis at 71 points, six points behind Vegas for the second wild card.
Eriksson Ek took a shot from Nick Bjugstad in Minnesota's 4-1 win over Arizona on Tuesday. He left the game and didn't return and he's not going to play Thursday when the Wild host Anaheim. His status for Saturday's showdown in St. Louis is unclear.
Without Erikson Ek, Minnesota will debut one of their top prospects, Marat Khusnutdinov. Based on reports from Thursday's morning skate, the Russian rookie will center the third line with Adam Beckman and Freddy Gaudreau on his wings.
Expected Wild lines Thursday against the Ducks:
- L1: Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy
- L2: Marcus Johansson, Marco Rossi, Mats Zuccarello
- L3: Marcus Foligno, Marat Khusnutdinov, Freddy Gaudreau
- L4: Mason Shaw, Jake Lucchini, Vinni Lettieri
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