The ice at TRIA Rink on Monday morning was notably more crowded than usual as most of the Wild players sidelined by injuries were practicing in advance of the team’s afternoon charter to Florida.
That’s because the players who have been called up as fill-ins for the injured also were on the ice. Rather than make decisions Monday about who gets on the plane and who stays home, the Wild decided to take everyone to Tampa Bay, where they begin a three-game road trip on Tuesday night against the Lightning.
“We did have a lot of guys (on the ice) so I’ll know more what game-eligible players will be there,” said Hynes, whose team snapped a four-game home losing streak by beating Dallas in overtime on Saturday. “We will take the whole group on the trip and then see where guys are at when they come back, what games they’ll play in.
“But we anticipate that everyone that’s on the trip will be eligible to play at some point.”
The most notable absences are veteran forwards Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno, who have missed the past two, three and 11 games, respectively, because of injuries.
Foligno’s return will mean an on-ice reunion with his brother Nick, who came to the Wild in early March at the trade deadline and has already earned his stripes as a valuable penalty killer. The return of Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek will mean getting the band back together for the top Minnesota’s power play unit.
The Wild are 0-5 with the man advantage since losing both Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek.
“Some of it is … we have to communicate with the guys about who’s going to be in and who’s going to be out,” Hynes said. “It is a good problem to have, but I think what we will do is once we start to get an idea of when players will be back, we’ll have discussions with certain guys.”
For example, Hynes noted the healthy scratch of veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian for one game last weekend as they worked newcomer Jeff Petry into the blue line mix.
“It wasn’t because Bogo didn’t play well, but we may have to do some of that where we have to sit down with guys and say, ‘You’re gonna get a night off and we’re gonna play these guys,’ ” Hynes said. “Because we want to keep everyone healthy, but we want to keep everyone fresh and going (as well).
“And then when it comes down to performance, then we’re gonna have to make some hard decisions. But the good part of those decisions is you have a lot of good players and can determine who is going to be in and out every night.”
The Wild have 11 regular-season games remaining, eight on the road, before they are expected to open the playoffs in Dallas on April 18 or 19. Despite losing their past two games, the Stars mathematically clinched a playoff spot on Sunday.
Briefly
Wild coach John Hynes opened his media scrum by addressing the death of NHL.com reporter Jessi Pierce and her three children in a White Bear Lake house fire last weekend. Hynes, who has worked with Pierce since he became the Wild’s coach in November 2023, offered thoughts and condolences on the tragic loss.