Major Help On The Way For Wild

Michael DeRosa Wednesday, January 12, 2022 Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild forwards Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, and Brandon Duhaime are all expected to return to the lineup for Friday night's game against the Anaheim Ducks.

Same with Eriksson Ek, so those two plus Greenway and Duhaime should return vs. Anaheim. Maybe Goligoski, too, depending if he gets off protocol and is in game shape. #mnwild having optional practice tomorrow, fyi https://t.co/ALJBBGnvnW
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 12, 2022

Out of this quartet of players, it's clear that Kaprizov is the biggest name. The star winger was injured after receiving an ugly hit from Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic last week. Thankfully, the 24-year-old's injury didn't end up being too serious, as he only missed one contest. In 32 games, he has 14 goals and 40 points.

Eriksson Ek has been out with an upper-body injury. He hasn't played since December 20th's game against the Dallas Stars, so it's certainly nice to see him coming back. In 30 games thus far, he has 11 goals to go along with nine helpers. His excellent two-way play has been missed by Minnesota.

Greenway and Duhaime have each been in COVID-19 protocol, but now Minnesota is getting two of their power forwards back. In 26 games this season, Greenway has four goals and five assists. As for Duhaime, he has three goals and seven assists in 31 games.

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