Common theme for Wild: Injuries, lineup juggling continue

Marc-Andre Fleury is between the pipes again, returning to the ice at practice after getting injured last week.

But when he'll suit up for a Wild game is unclear.

Although the veteran goalie is eligible to be activated from injured reserve Wednesday when the Wild's seven-game homestand continues against Winnipeg, coach Dean Evason said the team doesn't have a timeframe for when its starting goalie will be ready.

Fleury was hurt Nov. 15 at Nashville (upper-body injury) and skated on Tuesday at Tria Rink in St. Paul after practice.

"It's day by day," Evason said. "He's on the ice; that's a good thing. We'll see when he gets back in the lineup."

Still, the Wild's health is improving even though Ryan Hartman remains out with an upper-body injury he sustained on Oct. 30.

Jordan Greenway is penciled in to play against the Jets, what would be only his third game of the season.

After offseason shoulder surgery, Greenway suffered a different injury to the same shoulder when he made his first appearance on Oct. 20. He was sidelined for the next seven games and after playing Nov. 8 at Los Angeles, the winger had a setback with his more recent shoulder ailment. Greenway has missed the past six games and 16 overall.

"He's a big part of our hockey club," said Frederick Gaudreau, who centered Greenway and Matt Boldy at practice. "He's such a great player. But off the ice, also, he's fun to be around. He's fun to have in the locker room. He's always into it, always bringing the energy and the life on and off the ice.

"So, he's a big part of our team."

Adding Greenway to the equation bolsters the Wild's experience, and so does the decision to keep Alex Goligoski in action.

The veteran defenseman logged just his sixth game of the season last Saturday, drawing in on the same night the Wild honored him for reaching 1,000 games back in October. A healthy scratch for 12 of 13 games since skating in No. 1,000, Goligoski scored the game-winning goal in overtime to send the Wild past Carolina 2-1 with a victory that ended a three-game slide.

"It's obviously the highlight of my year," Goligoski said. "So, I'm excited right now. I think the team is, too. We want to get something going here and get on a roll."

Evason didn't specify how the lineup would adjust with Greenway back and mentioned the possibility of sticking with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, but rookies Calen Addison and Marco Rossi could be onlookers.

Goligoski took reps in Addison's spot on the power play Tuesday, and Rossi didn't participate in regular line rushes. Rossi, who has one assist, was idle last game for the second time this season, while Addison hasn't been scratched at all.

The Wild — sixth in the Central Division and 11th in the Western Conference — is still struggling to move up in the standings. But regardless of who's on the ice, the Wild have a blueprint for success, and it's the defensive showdown that happened against the Hurricanes.

Despite trailing most of the evening, the Wild prevented that deficit from ballooning and rallied in overtime after a late third-period equalizer from Sam Steel during a promotion to center Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello on the top line.

"We really liked how we played with the pace and the speed that we had," Evason said. "So many teams are so aggressive. We can use that aggressiveness to our advantage. We'd like to do that.

"We can definitely take a lot out of the last two periods of that Carolina game."

By trying to follow this script, the Wild are signing up for the pressure that comes with one play potentially determining whether they win or lose.

But perhaps the more times they prevail this way, the more familiar they'll get with the demands.

"I've been on teams like this where you get comfortable doing it and it becomes not easier, but it becomes more routine," Goligoski said. "You seem to just get better and better at it."