The Wild might get defensemen Jonas Brodin and Christian Folin back in the lineup Saturday night against the Dallas Stars, but the team will be without key defenseman Jared Spurgeon for "more than a couple games" because of a shoulder injury.
Spurgeon, a plus-7 with two goals and four assists and a big reason the 6-3 Wild has been so good in its transition game, was injured Thursday early in the third period of the Wild's comeback shootout win over the San Jose Sharks. As Spurgeon skated into the offensive zone on a zone entry, he was checked by Joe Pavelski and crashed shoulder-first into the wall.
"Not happy," Spurgeon said. "We've been playing awesome, so that's the hardest thing to come out of the lineup when your team is playing well. We've been winning games. It's one of the best starts since I've been here that we've had. But [with] the guys we have in the room, it's not going to matter with me being out with the way we're playing."
Spurgeon said the shoulder's not separated, but he has to let it mend and get the strength back.
"It could be a lot of worse," he said. "I'll just take it day by day and hopefully get better. It all depends how everything heals up."
Coach Mike Yeo called it "another test for the depth of our defensemen." The good news is Brodin, who missed the past two games, and Folin, who missed the past five, may return from ailments. But Spurgeon averages 22 minutes, 20 seconds a game and is a big reason for the Wild's outstanding puck possession.
In fact, stalwart defenseman Ryan Suter, the NHL's ice time leader the past two seasons and who is again leading the league at almost 29 minutes a game, said the top-notch play of partners Marco Scandella and Spurgeon has allowed him to concentrate on defense through nine games. Suter still has six points and is second among NHL defensemen with a plus-9.
"The way they've been playing, I have just sat back and let them do their thing," Suter said. "Now my mind-set is the same as last year when we lost Spurge and Zach [Parise] and Mikko [Koivu] at the same time. You say, 'OK, some key guys are down, now it's time I step up my game and make sure I'm better.'
"Whenever someone goes down, you always want to pull a little more weight. And the way we have been playing, there's no reason to think all of us can't do the same. It's hard to replace a Spurge though. Good thing Brods looks like he'll be back."
Haula might return
Left wing Matt Cooke (lower body) might be out for a bit, but center Erik Haula (head) has a good shot of returning Saturday, Yeo said.
With Kyle Brodziak coming off two solid games, including a two-goal performance Thursday, Haula might have to start on the fourth line, perhaps with Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Carter, because Justin Fontaine played well on the Brodziak line with Thomas Vanek in the third period Thursday.
"Bottom line is if Haula plays, if Fontaine plays [with Brodziak or Haula], we're going to have four good lines," Yeo said. "If we want to get caught up on who's on the third line, who's on the fourth line, both lines will play and both those lines will be important for us."
Yeo said what he loves right now is "if a line's having an off night, we can change up the lines or somebody else can pick up the slack [like Fontaine did for Niederreiter on Thursday]. I feel like I've got four lines I can put on the ice against anybody."
Etc.
• All fans who attend Saturday's Wild-Stars game will receive a thunder stick. During the first intermission, Jack Jablonski, the former Benilde-St. Margaret's hockey player paralyzed in 2011, will lead fans in hockey's largest stick tap. Jablonski's Bel13ve in Miracles Foundation teamed up with the Wild and Minnesota Hockey to kick off #StickTap2Hope, a social initiative to raise awareness for people living with spinal cord injuries. Stick taps are a hockey tradition to show respect for players injured in a game.
• Defenseman Justin Falk was reassigned.
