Marco Scandella will miss three to four weeks because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
That is good news for the Wild, which feared a serious knee injury when the defenseman was injured Tuesday against Tampa Bay. With the 20-day Olympic break after Thursday's game against Nashville, the hope is Scandella can return once the Wild's season resumes Feb. 27 or soon after.
"If you're going to do it, now's the time to do it," coach Mike Yeo said. "We'll have to make sure we stay on top of it. He's had a really strong season for us. Coming out of that break, we're going to need him."
In Wednesday's practice, left-shot defenseman Jonas Brodin took Scandella's spot on the second defense pair with Nate Prosser. Right-shot Jared Spurgeon took Brodin's spot on the right side of the top pair with Ryan Suter. Lefties Clayton Stoner and Keith Ballard, partners for much of this season, were on the third pair.
Koivu in limbo
Mikko Koivu's third Olympic appearance for Finland continues to be in jeopardy.
"Not only is he not cleared to play right now, he's not even cleared to practice with the team," General Manager Chuck Fletcher said of the Wild captain, who had ankle surgery Jan. 6.
"There's a lot of healing and work that needs to be done to get him to that position. If we can get him there, great, but I think people need to understand how hard he's working to get healthy and come back. But … your body's only going to heal the way it's going to heal. He's skating on his own, but it's a long way from skating on your own to playing in a high-end international Olympic game."
Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, expected to be a key player for Team Canada, was ruled out for the Olympics even though he had been practicing after recovering from a broken tibia in his right leg.
