Wild returns to practice after four-day break, battles itself

Wild players will square off against the same competition in the lead-up to the Winter Classic on New Year's Day: their teammates.

The Wild reconvened for practice on Sunday afternoon at Tria Rink in St. Paul after a four-day, leaguewide hiatus, and the session was a preview of what most of the team's preparation for the Saturday showdown at Target Field against the Blues will look like.

Since the NHL delayed its return until Tuesday after starting its holiday break early last week on the heels of an uptick in COVID-19 cases, the Wild won't play Monday at Winnipeg.

That was the fourth game the team had postponed this season; a Dec. 23 matchup against Detroit at Xcel Energy Center was also called off, giving the Wild an 11-day lull in between games. The Wild last played a week ago in Dallas, suffering a season-high fourth consecutive loss.

"It'll be a good time for us to focus on some things, focus on some details that we struggled on the last couple games," winger Jordan Greenway said. "Yeah, it'll be a good thing for us. It's a big game. It's exciting, so I don't think we'll have any problem getting up for it or being ready for it."

Greenway, who missed the game vs. the Stars because of a lower-body injury, skated Sunday, with players donning their Winter Classic gear. But captain Jared Spurgeon (lower-body injury) and center Joel Eriksson Ek (upper-body injury) didn't practice.

Both players have been ruled out for the Winter Classic, coach Dean Evason said, but how long each will be sidelined remains unclear.

"Not rosy outcomes," Evason said.

Spurgeon re-aggravated an injury on Dec. 16 after previously missing eight games with the issue, while Eriksson Ek was hurt against Dallas.

"We're definitely going to miss both of those guys, and it just adds to the disappointment for both of them that they have to miss the Classic," goaltender Cam Talbot said. "It's just terrible, terrible timing."

As for Greenway, he felt "a lot better" than he expected he would after practicing.

"The more rest I can get, the better it will be," he said. "Time is my asset right now."

St. Louis also isn't at full strength.

Four Blues players were placed in the COVID protocols on Sunday, including Ivan Barbashev, one of the team's leading scorers. The Blues have one game scheduled before the Winter Classic, Wednesday vs. Edmonton.

None of the Wild's postponed contests have been rescheduled, but the NHL can make up action in February after the league announced last Wednesday its players would not be participating in the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"It's a bummer that the NHL guys can't go," said Greenway, who represented Team USA at the last Winter Olympics in 2018 in Pyeongchang. "I think a lot of guys were excited, especially the fact that four years ago they couldn't go. But it's the circumstances. It's just what we gotta deal with right now. But it's a blessing for the guys that don't play in the NHL and get the opportunity like I had."

As teams continue to deal with COVID issues, the league will allow emergency recalls and reintroduce taxi squads, strategies which Evason forecast the Wild will probably utilize during road trips.

With Spurgeon and Eriksson Ek out, the Wild has the minimum number of forwards and defensemen currently available on its roster but the team is likely to add reinforcements from Iowa in the American Hockey League later in the week.

In the meantime, training for the Winter Classic remains on deck. This week, the Wild plans to focus on its defense, the offensive zone and then

St. Louis before a run-through at Target Field on Friday.

"The players, just talking to a few guys today, are excited to get some reps in practice," Evason said. "We've got some time to kind of build up to that. Hopefully, we all do the right things as coaches and players to ramp up so that we're ready to go on that game."