Wild's Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek return to skating at critical time

Skating at close to full speed is an important step in the final stages of both players' recoveries from their respective injuries, but their return to game action is not yet imminent. They won't play this weekend or on the Wild's three-game road trip to New Jersey and New York next week, coach John Hynes said. They will join the team on the road trip, though, and Kaprizov will see his surgeon again in New York.

That means the earliest they could play is the Sunday, April 6 home game against the Dallas Stars. That's the fifth-to-last game in the regular season. It sounds like the best-case scenario here is that Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek have the final five games of the regular season to get their legs back underneath them and get ready for the playoffs — provided the Wild actually get there.

Since starting the season 18-4-4 and sitting atop the NHL standings, the Wild have gone 22-23-1. They're still sitting in the top wild card spot in the Western Conference, but they're just two points up on the eighth-place St. Louis Blues, five points ahead of the ninth-place Vancouver Canucks, and six points ahead of the tenth-place Calgary Flames, who have played two fewer games than Minnesota and thus might be their biggest threat.

The Wild, who have scored one goal or fewer in seven of their last 14 games, need to find some offense and pick up some points over the final ten games of the season if they're going to hold onto their playoff spot.

"We know what we’re up against," veteran Mats Zuccarello said after Tuesday's 5-1 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights. "We gotta raise to that level. Everything can happen in the playoffs, but first we gotta worry about getting there first of all."

Kaprizov hasn't played since January 26 and hasn't scored a goal since December 23. He tried to come back from his lower-body injury in late January, played just three games, and has been out ever since. He has 52 points in 37 games this season and is somehow still tied for the team lead with 23 goals.

Eriksson Ek, who is a critical two-way center, hasn't played since February 22. He has 24 points in 42 games this season.

The Wild (40-27-5) host Alex Ovechkin and the NHL-leading Washington Capitals (47-15-9) on Thursday night. Jonas Brodin will be in the lineup for Minnesota, while Marcus Foligno is reportedly a game-time decision.