Wild winger Zach Parise won't play Monday against the Predators at Xcel Energy Center, the second straight game he'll miss with a lower-body injury.
"Zach's better," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He's obviously not playing tonight but we're hoping that if all goes well, he'll be back sooner than later."
Parise was clipped by Capitals winger Tom Wilson in the third period Friday. He kept playing, setting up the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the Wild, but was out Saturday when the team finished off its back-to-back with a 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Carolina.
Nashville, second in the Central Division, has an 11-point lead on the Wild. Former Gophers center Rem Pitlick, signed last week, will make his NHL debut tonight for Nashville. Pitlick (pictured) passed up his final year of eligibility with the Gophers to start a two-year, entry-level contract with the Predators.
"It's super exciting, and I'm really grateful for this opportunity," he said. "It's pretty cool that I'm able to make my debut at home in front of my friends and family, so it's going to be awesome."
The Wild, meanwhile, hopes Parise could be back in action this weekend when it returns to the road for a two-game tour of Vegas and Arizona.
That's also when the Wild could get center Joel Eriksson Ek back in the lineup.
Eriksson Ek, who's been sidelined with a lower-body injury since getting hurt March 11 against the San Jose Sharks, participated in the team's morning skate Monday after a 10-minute session Sunday – the first time he was on the ice since he was injured.
"He looked great today," Boudreau said. "You want to get him back in as soon as you can. But when somebody hasn't skated for [almost two weeks], I think it's tough to throw them back in and then you have three days for him to skate this week and hopefully by Friday he's ready to play."
After an overtime loss for the Avalanche Sunday, the Wild resumes play against Nashville two points back of Colorado for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The team, along with the Avalanche and Coyotes (who are tied with the Wild with 79 points), have six games to go.
"It's a fun part of the year," Boudreau said. "You either embrace it and enjoy this and let it grab you and go for it, or you get afraid of it. And if you get afraid of it, then you're in trouble anyway. We want guys to embrace this challenge and win the challenge."
Projected Wild lineup:
Jason Zucker-Eric Staal-Kevin Fiala
Jordan Greenway-Luke Kunin-Ryan Donato
Marcus Foligno-Victor Rask-Pontus Aberg
Matt Read-Eric Fehr-J.T. Brown
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Brad Hunt
Nick Seeler-Greg Pateryn
Devan Dubnyk
Key numbers:
0-1-2: Record for the Wild this season vs. the Predators.
15: Points for winger Ryan Donato in his last 16 games.
6: Game-opening goals for winger Jordan Greenway.
60: Points by Wild rookies.
6: Game-winning goals by center Eric Staal, which is tops on the Wild.
About the Predators:
Nashville is second in the Central Division with 90 points, four behind Winnipeg for the top spot. The Predators are coming off a 5-0 loss to the Jets Saturday. Before then, they'd won three of their previous four games. Winger Filip Forsberg has 24 points in his last 30 games. Fellow winger Viktor Arvidsson has a team-high 31 goals, while center Ryan Johansen leads the Predators in points with 60.
