ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild will be without first-line right wing Mats Zuccarello for “probably three to four weeks” after the veteran forward underwent surgery Thursday night after taking a shot to his groin area.
Zuccarello was injured with 7:08 left in the first period of a 3-0 win over Montreal when teammate Brock Faber’s point shot struck him.
Zuccarello, 37, who has been stapled to leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov’s right wing all season and for much of their five seasons together, has scored six goals and 14 points in 16 games.
Zuccarello down the tunnel pic.twitter.com/bjTGJlYKRa
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Coach John Hynes made clear Friday that Zuccarello’s timetable is very much an estimate depending on his recovery from a tough injury.
“It’s a little bit probably premature on that,” Hynes said. “I just know he’s recovering right now. To be honest, we’ve had so many different things going on with it, I don’t know other than he’s good, he’s on the mend and then we’ll get more detail specifically on what he can do, can’t do and what that time frame will truly look like on the way back.
“We’ll see in a few days once he settles down and sees the doctors and trainers … where he’s at.”
Center Joel Eriksson was also injured on the next shift when he took an awkward step and went to the bench grimacing with a non-contact lower-body injury. He also didn’t return to the game. Right now, the Wild are calling him day to day.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin (upper body) missed Thursday’s game and is also day to day. Both will receive further treatment Saturday morning and neither is ruled out for Saturday night’s game against the Dallas Stars, Hynes said.
However, with Zuccarello on injured reserve, the Wild freed up a roster spot to recall a forward just in case Eriksson Ek can’t play.
Michael Milne is one extra forward currently on the roster, so he could be in line to make his NHL debut against the Stars. If Eriksson Ek can’t play, the Wild could move a winger like Matt Boldy or Ryan Hartman to the middle if they don’t want to recall a center.
Zuccarello’s loss is a tough one for the Wild because he has played so well with Kaprizov, who has 30 points in 16 games.
“Zuccy’s such an important part of the team,” Hynes said. “I’ve really enjoyed coaching him. He’s a veteran player, he’s an extreme competitor, he’s got great hockey sense and his value on the power play. Obviously his chemistry with Kirill, but to me the way he’s come in this year and he’s played, he’s a real key guy. But, that being said, he’s played a long time, too, and I know when he comes back he’s going to be back to where he is.”
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