Where Wild stand in the playoff race after disappointing loss
It was a bad night for the Minnesota Wild as they lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins and lost Joel Eriksson Ek and Oskar Sundvqist to injury.
The loss comes at a terrible time as Dallas and Colorado both won Thursday night, putting Minnesota into third place in the tight Central Division race. Entering play Friday, Dallas and Colorado have 100 points and the Wild are third with 98 points.
There are no NHL games Friday but all three are in action Saturday. Dallas hosts Vegas, Minnesota hosts St. Louis and Colorado has a tough road game against Los Angeles.
"We didn't like the way we started the hockey game, for sure," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "We knew they were going to be desperate, which they were. They came out and played the right way, we did not. By the time we caught ourselves, it was too late. We played well for two periods, but the game is 60 minutes."
As much as the loss hurts, the health of Eriksson Ek and Sundqvist are very concerning with the playoffs start soon. Eriksson Ek left the game after being hit in his ankle by an Evgeni Malkin slap shot. Sundqvist left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and the Wild had no official update on either player afterward.
The good news is that Kirill Kaprizov is expected to return to the lineup any day. He's been skating and could very well be in the lineup Saturday night. Despite missing the past 14 games with a lower-body injury, he still leads the Wild with 39 goals.
