Minnesota Wild
Brock Faber returned to the lineup for the Wild against the Nashville Predators on Saturday and had two shots in 25:10 of ice time.
The defenseman missed four games with an upper-body injury sustained during a 6-4 win against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 7. Faber has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 42 games while averaging a team-high 24:58 of ice time per game.
“I’m excited. I feel good,” Faber said. “It obviously [stinks] being hurt. First time in a really long time that I’ve had to miss games. It’ll drive you crazy, that’s for sure. But I feel good. I’m excited to be back with the guys. It’s really exciting.”
Jakub Lauko also played 9:18 on Saturday. The forward was out since Dec. 14 after reaggravating a lower-body injury. He has four points (two goals, two assists) in 25 games this season.
“I might have overestimated myself a little bit, and I underestimated the injury,” Lauko said. “So, it happened again, and I had a little bit different issue as well. So, it’s been a long time. Was getting a little sick of just lifting, lifting and just everything from far away. So, I’m happy to be part of the team, to go on a trip again and hopefully get some games.”
The Wild recalled goalie Dylan Ferguson from Iowa of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions Saturday with Filip Gustavsson unavailable because of an illness.
Kirill Kaprizov was moved to retroactive long-term injured reserve and is not travelling with the Wild on a two-game road trip that includes a visit to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. The forward, who has missed 10 games because of a lower-body injury, practiced with the team Friday and is eligible to return when healthy.
Kaprizov leads Minnesota in goals (23), assists (27) and points (50) in 34 games this season.
“It hasn’t been setback; it’s just, I would say it’s taken a little bit longer in the recovery process of pushing it and then see how it reacts to that, and then pushing it further and see how that reacts,” Wild coach John Hynes said.
Jared Spurgeon also practiced and continues to progress from a lower-body injury. Spurgeon last played Dec. 31 and was placed on injured reserve Jan. 6. The defenseman and Wild captain has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 32 games and is averaging 20:43 of ice time.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin, who sustained a lower-body injury Dec. 7, has not resumed skating and was placed on injured reserve Saturday. He is working out off the ice. — Jessi Pierce
