Wild place star winger on IR

The Minnesota Wild have placed star winger Kirill Kaprizov on injured reserve. He joins a long list of Wild players on IR, including Filip Gustavsson — who was injured on the same night — Mats Zuccarello, Vinni Lettieri, Sam Hentges, and Jonas Brodin.

Kaprizov went down after receiving multiple cross-checks in the back from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon. Dillon wasn’t penalized on the play, though Kaprizov is now labeled with a lower-body injury that will hold him out for a minimum of one week. He adds to Minnesota’s long list of injuries, which has also recently featured Marcus Foligno. It’s the beginning of what will inevitably be a difficult stretch for the Wild, now without their top two scorers Kaprizov and Zuccarello. Kaprizov is the only player to overtake Zuccarello while the latter has sat out for the last eight games. It’s a testament to Zuccarello’s performances this year, netting 28 points in 28 games. Kaprizov has matched the point-per-game scoring, managing 34 points in 34 games.

Minnesota has lost both of their games since Kaprizov and Gustavsson went down with injuries, getting outscored, 6-3. Marc-Andre Fleury served as the team’s starter in both games, backed up by Zayne McIntyre. McIntyre joined forward Nic Petan as the two players recalled in the wake of Kaprizov and Gustavsson’s injuries — though it will be interesting to see if Minnesota swaps out depth pieces now knowing that they will be without their pair of dynamic scorers for some time. 

Top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt is currently serving as the starter for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, where his .922 save percentage across 18 games ranks fourth in the entire league. Wallstedt received an NHL call-up earlier in the season but has yet to make his NHL debut.