The Minnesota Wild are mired in an abysmal stretch that has seen the team lose seven of its last eight games to fall to 17-19-15 — but reinforcements are on the way.
One is, for sure: Filip Gustavsson, who hasn’t played since Dec. 30, will be back between the pipes when the Wild welcome the Arizona Coyotes to Saint Paul on Saturday night.
Gustavsson was activated and designated ahead of Saturday’s tilt at the Xcel Energy Center. He suffered a lower-body injury in a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at the end of December.
In 2023-24, the Swedish netminder has posted a 10-9-2 record with a respectable 2.95 goals-against average and .903 save percentage over 22 starts. He had been especially potent before the ailment, following up a ghastly 2-6-2 stretch by going 8-3 with a .927 save percentage in his last 11 games.
The Wild sent rookie first-round pick Jesper Wallstedt back to the American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild in a corresponding move. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut in a disappointing 7-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.
Kirill Kaprizov a true game-time decision
The return of Filip Gustavsson is excellent news for Wild fans — especially the way the team has been playing lately — but the biggest boost of all would be the return of superstar Kirill Kaprizov on Saturday.
The Russian is a game-time decision after skating on Friday and returning to the ice again on Saturday morning. Wild head coach John Hynes told reporters he wanted to see how Kaprizov, Gustavsson and defenseman Jonas Brodin all responded to Friday’s skate before making any decisions.
Now that the Gustavsson decision is made, it’s clear that either Kaprizov, Brodin or both players have a legitimate chance to face the Yotes on Saturday night.
Kaprizov has again been Minnesota’s best player in 2023-24; the 26-year-old has scored 13 goals and 34 points in 34 games. He reportedly suffered broken ribs in the same game that Gustavsson was injured in, which has kept him out of the lineup for the last two weeks.
The Wild badly need Kirill Kaprizov back as soon as possible; it just isn’t anywhere near the same team without him.
As this club desperately continues the playoff push — entering Saturday six points back of the Edmonton Oilers for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference — health is going to be a key factor down the stretch.
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