Minnesota Wild working through injuries ahead of first-round series

The Minnesota Wild are hopeful that winger Marcus Johansson will be available for the start of their first-round series against the Dallas Stars on Monday, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The veteran was injured on a cross-check from Winnipeg blueliner Neal Pionk during the final week of the regular season. Wild head coach Dean Evason has indicated that while the 32-year-old is sore, he looks to avoided more serious injury.  

Johansson’s second stint with Minnesota has been quite successful, as he posted six goals and 12 assists in 20 games after being acquired from Washington just before the trade deadline.  Johansson managed to return to practice with the team on Saturday, an encouraging sign that he might be able to suit up against the Stars for Game 1.

More from Minnesota:

• Center Joel Eriksson Ek skated before practice on Saturday as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed a little over a week since suffering the injury against Pittsburgh.  Eriksson Ek was given a week-to-week designation and it seems unlikely that he will be ready for Monday’s postseason opener.  His absence would be a significant one. Not only is he their matchup center against top opponents, he also finished fourth in team scoring -- surpassing the 60-point mark for the first time in his career.
• Forward Oskar Sundqvist likewise skated on Saturday. It was for the first time since suffering also a lower-body injury against Pittsburgh last week, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline and had made a good first impression with Minnesota, collecting three goals and four assists in 15 games before going down hurt.  While it is unclear at this point if he will be good to go to start the series against Dallas, he has not yet been ruled out for Game 1.
• The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Nic Petan cleared waivers Saturday, enabling the organization to return him to AHL Iowa. Petan played his 10th game of the season Thursday, meaning that he had to pass through waivers before being assigned back to the minors.  The 28-year-old has had another strong season at the AHL level, tallying 60 points in 51 games heading into the final weekend of play.