This isn’t the first time the Wild have been decimated by injuries.

Remember when Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello got hurt within days of each other in mid-November?

Then last month, the Wild had the likes of Jake Middleton and Filip Gustavsson out while Eriksson Ek was on the mend again.

But the team’s recent surge in subtractions is a doozy.

Brodin and Brock Faber — aka the Wild’s top pairing on defense — were hurt Tuesday in the victory over St. Louis.

By Thursday, the Wild almost needed an emergency backup goaltender: Marc-Andre Fleury was sick and the Wild couldn’t call up a replacement from the minors because their Iowa goalies are either injured or too pricey to be added to the roster with the Wild’s current salary-cap space.

Oh, and leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon are also out, along with depth winger Jakub Lauko.

“We gotta burn something,” alternate captain Marcus Foligno said. “I don’t want PETA calling me but sacrifice a goat or something. We gotta do something here. It’s crazy.”

Although the Wild had been doing a commendable job of plugging the holes in their lineup — their victory over the Blues was their fourth straight — they finally couldn’t keep up with this game of Whac-A-Mole and were snubbed 6-1 by Colorado in what could have been the beginning of a self-pity party.

Instead, the Wild expect to persevere because they have.

“That’s not an excuse we can make,” Middleton said. “We’ve shown we can play with guys out of the lineup, right? So as much as you might want to think that or say that, that’s not the scenario for our team, especially just because we have done it for the first half of the year where guys are stepping up and producing anytime we’ve been down a man.”

Or four.

That’s how many were missing when the Wild started their recent win streak, and that run was one of their best.

They shook off an improving Nashville and then defeated two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in Washington and Carolina, with the Capitals among the league leaders period. St. Louis had also been on the rise.

Another test in the Avalanche would have been par for the course until Faber got elbowed and Brodin took a shot off the right skate, absences that unleveled the playing field. None of the Wild’s injured players traveled for a road trip to San Jose and Vegas that begins Saturday vs. the Sharks.

“It’s just one of those things where it is what it is,” Foligno said. “You gotta laugh about it, shake it off, and just move on and just play with the guys we got.

“We got a lot of quality guys in here that know how to play the game, and hopefully we can survive until those guys come back.”

As lopsided as the score was, the disparity on the ice between the Wild and Colorado wasn’t as wide.

The Wild had the edge in scoring chances and high-danger chances, with the Avalanche opportunistic on their 27 shots against Gustavsson, who’s given up 10 goals in his last two starts and was pulled after St. Louis scored four. Fleury, who did back up, didn’t relieve Gustavsson against Colorado.

“We got good NHL players,” coach John Hynes said. “We got a good team. We got good structure. We believe in how we play. [Thursday] didn’t go our way.”

And while the Wild might not be getting any breaks on the injury front, they could be getting help from the schedule since the Wild are the NHL’s best road team.

Perhaps the change in scenery is just the jolt they need to get back to doing what they’ve proven they’re capable of, and that’s succeeding when no one would blame them for failing.

“That’s why this game’s so great,” Foligno said. “You got to be able to do it and [get] character wins. The underdog story, I think that’s what we’re going to have to live with for a while now. So, yeah, just stay positive. We got to go into San Jose and be hungry, and then go into Vegas with another measuring-stick game.

“If we can get one of those guys that are off right now back, that’s huge. But it’s got to be the mentality just to stay with it and to play for each other.”

Saturday, 9 p.m., SAP Center

TV; radio: FanDuel Sports Network North Extra; 100.3 FM

Game preview: The Sharks went into Friday’s game at Utah with two wins in their last three games after an eight-game winless skid to close out 2024. ... Before losing to Vegas on Tuesday, San Jose nabbed one-goal victories over Tampa Bay and New Jersey. ... C Macklin Celebrini has impressed since getting drafted first overall last year and is in contention for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. He had two goals in the Wild’s 5-2 win over the Sharks on Nov. 7. ... Former Wild F Mikael Granlund assisted on both of Celebrini’s goals.

Injuries: Wild D Jonas Brodin (lower body), D Brock Faber (upper body), LW Kirill Kaprizov (lower body), LW Jakub Lauko (lower body) and D Jared Spurgeon (lower body) are out. Sharks C Logan Couture (groin), RW Carl Grundstrom (undisclosed), C Nico Sturm (lower body), G Vitek Vanecek (fractured cheek) and D Jake Walman (lower body) are out.