That deafening silence is the State of Hockey holding its collective breath.
Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov is expected to miss three to four weeks with a lower-body injury after getting hurt late in Minnesota’s 4-2 victory over the Jets on Wednesday night in Winnipeg. The team announced that timeline via Twitter on Thursday afternoon after Kaprizov was checked out by team doctors.
The Wild have 16 regular-season games left, the last set for April 16 at Nashville. The hope from everyone within the organization is that Kaprizov will be back for the playoffs.
The sequence that led to Kaprizov leaving the ice looked pretty bad in real time. He had control of the puck in the offensive zone, turned his body to win a battle, and appeared to get tackled by Jets defenseman Logan Stanley.
The force from the collision caused Kaprizov to do the splits, and he was visibly in pain as he staggered to his skates. After trying to continue his shift, he glided gingerly to the bench. He limped down the tunnel to the locker room after the next whistle.
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With the Wild scheduled to start a three-game road trip Saturday night in San Jose, the Wild recalled Sammy Walker from the Iowa Wild. Walker, 23, leads the team in goals (24), power-play goals (nine), plus/minus rating (plus-17) and is tied for first in AHL scoring among rookies (44 points).
Still, It raises the question: How do they Wild replace Kaprizov’s production?
It’s not going to be easy. Although opposing teams make it their mission to frustrate Kaprizov at every turn, his production hasn’t slipped. He leads the Wild with 74 points (39 goals and 35 assists) this season and has scored a whopping 21.8 percent of the team’s goals.
Even with that production, the Wild have struggled to score goals. Ahead of Thursday’s slate of games, the Wild ranked No. 26 in the league with 2.75 goals per game. More concerning, they were tied for dead last with the tanking Chicago Blackhawks with 106 goals when 5-on-5.
The good news for the Wild is they have been defending incredibly well over the past month and have gotten outstanding goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. That should help them keep their head above water while Kaprizov recovers.
As long as he’s ready for the playoffs, the Wild should be in good shape. If he’s not, well, then it could be an early exit.
Briefly
The Wild also signed prospect Kyle Masters, a fourth-round pick in the 2021 draft, to an entry-level contract that starts next season. The defenseman has 59 points (11-48—59) and a plus-16 rating in 58 games with the Kamloops Blazers in the Western Hockey League.
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