Same story with Wild: Injury updates are the common theme as team hits the road

Not since the preseason have the Wild had a practice as crowded as the session they held Friday at Tria Rink in St. Paul.

“Felt nice,” alternate captain Marcus Foligno said. “Got a bit of a break.”

But when it came time to leave for a road trip to Nashville and Colorado, the Wild’s attendance dipped.

Kirill Kaprizov stayed behind, meaning he’ll miss his 11th and 12th games since Dec. 27 while addressing a lingering lower-body injury that was initially labeled as day-to-day.

Captain Jared Spurgeon also didn’t travel, and neither did defenseman Jonas Brodin and winger Marcus Johansson.

But the Wild are expecting defenseman Brock Faber and winger Jakub Lauko to return Saturday against the Predators after both took regular reps in practice; Kaprizov and Spurgeon also participated, but as extras.

“We have another good practice day before you get into that next stretch of games [next week],” coach John Hynes said. “So, I think the schedule lends itself where these guys can get back. We’re not overloaded with games right now. But all things are trending in the right direction.”

Still, Hynes never imagined Kaprizov would be sidelined this long. He was actually placed on long-term injured reserve retroactively to have enough salary-cap space to juggle their roster, which included activating Lauko from injured reserve, bringing up forwards Liam Ohgren and Brendan Gaunce from the minors and sending forward Ben Jones to Iowa in the American Hockey League.

Kaprizov still leads the Wild in scoring with 23 goals, 27 assists and 50 points despite not playing in more than three weeks.

“The timeline has kept getting pushed back,” Hynes said. “That’s a little bit frustrating in my conversations with him because he wants to play. But also at the same time, it’s not like he’s being held back and we’re not letting him play. It’s in concert with the player.

“He feels good but not ready yet. So, our job is to help prepare him, and I’m assuming, I’m hopeful, that that will be at some point next week.”

Unlike Kaprizov and Spurgeon, who’s also been out because of a lower-body injury since getting slew-footed into the boards by Nashville’s Zachary L’Heureux on New Year’s Eve, Brodin hasn’t resumed skating. (Asked about potentially facing L’Heureux for the first time since the rookie injured Spurgeon, Foligno said the Wild have to be smart and not focus specifically on one player.)

Brodin was hurt Jan. 7 vs. St. Louis when he blocked a shot with his right skate. Faber also left that game injured after taking an elbow from the Blues’ Jake Neighbours that Faber doesn’t believe was intentional.

“I’m frustrated with myself really,” said Faber, who teamed up with Jake Middleton on the blue line in practice. “I caught a puck, and I really exposed my neck and my head, and that happens, right? I take pride in trying to protect myself and stay healthy and stay away from hits like that. When it happens, I look back on it and I definitely had my head exposed. It’s just kind of a bang-bang play.

“I’ve been hit like that so many times where you just never know.”

Lauko is returning from a muscle injury that’s knocked him out twice now. He sat out for six games and then came back for three before getting shelved for a month. Lauko mentioned he underestimated the injury and that he was also dealing with a different issue.

“I took longer, and it feels pretty good,” he said. “We need to get to the game and see how it feels. But overall in practice it feels great.”

His addition fills out the bottom-six forward group, while Ohgren will take Johansson’s place on the second line. Johansson suffered a concussion after getting elbowed by Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in the 5-3 loss to the Oilers on Wednesday. McDavid wasn’t penalized in-game nor fined afterward.

“If it would have been the other way, probably JoJo would be getting death threats, I would say,” Lauko said. “So, I don’t know. I didn’t like it. Everyone who is not biased towards any team should see it wasn’t the right play.”

Ohgren’s promotion comes after he’d been thriving in Iowa, racking up 12 goals and 11 assists to be almost a point-per-game player in 25 games. He was named to the AHL All-Star roster following a slow start with the Wild.

“I missed that when I was up for the first time. I didn’t have that confidence,” said Ohgren, who feels ready for a top-six opportunity and credited his production with Iowa to his improved play without the puck. “So, it was great to be down there, playing a lot of minutes — PP, PK, everything. And obviously to score some goals and throw up some points, it was good, for sure.”

In net, the Wild will utilize both goalies on their trip, starting with Marc-Andre Fleury.

Filip Gustavsson, who has given up 19 goals in four starts since shutting out Carolina on Jan. 4, had a lengthy chat with Hynes after Friday’s practice.

“We had a good talk just about where he’s at, where his game’s at,” Hynes relayed. “He asked me what I saw. We talked a little bit about our team game. We talked a little bit about his game. But I think he’s in a good spot.

“… It was a really good conversation, and I’m glad that we had it because I think that’s what you want from your goalies, to come in and not be too low. Because you can look at the goals against and not winning some games here that he could have, but it’s not all bad, either. I like where his head is.”

Both games on the trip should be a challenge, with the Predators on the upswing and the Avalanche only three points back of the Wild in the division.

But the Wild are closer to their normal lineup with Faber and Lauko suiting up, and more reinforcements could be on the way next week.

“Last game I think it showed a little bit,” Foligno said. “As of late, we’ve been in some tight games, and guys like that can pull you through, right? So, you get guys like Fabes back. Kirill out there. Spurgy out there. Lauko back. It’s huge for our team, huge for just the momentum of our group. Lift up some spirits, and hopefully we take it on the road with us.”

Saturday, 7 p.m., Bridgestone Arena

TV; radio: FanDuel Sports Network North; 100.3 FM

Game preview: The Predators can sweep the week if they avoid a season sweep by the Wild. They outlasted Vegas 5-3 on Tuesday before prevailing 3-2 in a shootout against Chicago Thursday night. Overall, Nashville has won four of its last six games, but the Predators have lost twice to the Wild (3-2 in overtime on Nov. 30 and 5-3 on New Year’s Eve). Both of those games were in St. Paul, and the Predators have been better at home than on the road. Four of their past five home games have been wins.

Injuries: Wild D Jonas Brodin (lower body), LW Marcus Johansson (concussion), LW Kirill Kaprizov (lower body), and D Jared Spurgeon (lower body) are out. Predators RW Luke Evangelista (lower body), D Jeremy Lauzon (lower body), LW Cole Smith (lower body) and D Adam Wilsby (upper body) are out.