LOS ANGELES – Jonas Brodin underwent an MRI on Wednesday afternoon for a lower-body injury suffered the previous night and didn’t play in the Wild’s road trip finale against Los Angeles.
Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin undergoes MRI, misses game in Los Angeles
The extent of Jonas Brodin’s absence on a depleted blue line is unclear; Dakota Mermis filled Brodin’s lineup spot.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 21, 2024 at 5:56AM
Brodin was hurt in the third period of the Wild’s 4-0 win over Anaheim on Tuesday when he was dropped to the ice by the Ducks’ Alex Killorn.
As he fell, Brodin’s right leg bent under his body, and the defenseman eventually made his way to the Wild’s bench with his right skate lifted.
Coach John Hynes said he didn’t have an update on Brodin’s status after the Wild’s 6-0 loss to the Kings on Thursday. Dakota Mermis slotted into the lineup in Brodin’s absence.
“Important is an understatement,” Frederick Gaudreau said when addressing Brodin’s value to the Wild. “He does everything on the ice. He’s probably one of my favorite players in the whole league just because he’s always skating, looks so easy. He makes good plays. He plays against the best players on the other team.
“They don’t seem to like to play against him because he’s always skating with them.”
Earlier this season, Brodin sat out 17 games — approximately a month — with a thumb injury but had been on a tear since returning from the All-Star break, scoring six of his seven goals while averaging 23 minutes, 28 seconds of ice time.
Already, the Wild blue line is without captain Jared Spurgeon, who’s been shelved since January with season-ending hip and back issues.
“It’s hockey,” Hynes said. “We all know at this level that you’re going to go through situations where you have injuries. When you prepare for it’s not who’s out, it’s who’s in, that’s really the mentality you gotta buy into.”
Joel Eriksson Ek has also been sidelined, the center missing the road trip because of a lower-body injury, but Eriksson Ek could be back Saturday when the Wild play host to St. Louis.
After that, the team will have a four-day break, a layoff that could recharge the body and the mind.
“You can rest physically and mentally, and you still have a couple quality practice days before you play again,” Hynes said. “At this time of year, that’s important.”
The Wild are off to one of the best starts in franchise history, and Kirill Kaprizov is tied for the NHL scoring lead.
