The Minnesota Wild are/were absolutely rolling.
The team is currently riding an 11-game point streak. As of this writing (Thursday, March 9), they are tied with the Dallas Stars, who have a game in hand on the Wild, for first place in the Central Division with a 37-21-7 record for 81 points.
Unfortunately, there is now a negative caveat. In Wednesday night’s March 8, 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, Wild forward and franchise player Kirill Kaprizov got hurt and ended up leaving the ice.
The news worsened today (Thursday, March 9) as the team reported that Kaprizov, 25, is expected to miss three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. This injury could not have come at a worse time for this hockey club.
One major reason why the team is playing so well was because of Kaprizov. He leads the team in goals (39), is second in assists (35), and is first in points (74).
He has especially been good since the All-Star break. Since then, he is third in the league with 12 goals behind Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid (13) and Colorado Avalanche All-Star Nathan MacKinnon (13).
With Kaprizov now expected to miss some time, the team’s fortunes can go in the wrong direction in a hurry. This team is fighting for both the top spot in their division and for a playoff spot in general, as things are very tight in the Western Conference.
Without their main offensive threat in the lineup, the team’s offense will suffer. Even with Kaprizov having a strong offensive season, the team is an awful 25th in the league in goals scored, as they have scored just 179 goals in 65 games (2.75 goals per game).
The Wild are going to need to find a way to pull together to do everything they can to get into the playoffs come April. The question is, will they be able to do it?
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