The verdict is in. Two-game suspension for Marcus Foligno

Well, Minnesota Wild fans, the league’s verdict is in. There will be no Moose sightings at the Xcel Energy Center over the next few days.

Wild forward Marcus Foligno received his first career NHL suspension (two games) in response to the kneeing incident that took place Tuesday night. It came during Winnipeg’s 2-0 win that snapped the Wild’s six-game winning streak.

In his first game back with the team after missing a few due to an injury, Moose (living up to his name Tuesday), took part in — not one, but two — fights with Jets forward Andrew Lowry. The second of which ultimately led to the suspension as Foligno clearly kneed Lowry in the head while he was pinned down on the ice.

Completely unlike anything he has ever done, I’d say the final call by the NHL Players Safety team was accurate. But the ironic thing about the decision is the fact that the first game Moose will be allowed back to play in will be a rematch IN WINNIPEG on Wednesday.

Safe to say it’s going to be a game you won’t want to miss if you’re big on physical hockey.

For the Wild team (28-11-3) that is set to begin from embarking on the craziest stretch of games in franchise history, are going to need to play clean, stay as rested as possible, and avoid any sort of act that’ll get them off the ice.

ForFoligno, hopefully this is a one-and-done deal.

With one of the strongest players now off the ice, the return of another is quickly approaching as star defensemen Matt Dumba practiced Thursday. That should give us fans hope that he returns on Saturday.

The Wild host the Carolina Hurricanes in St. Paul at 7 p.m. to start a home stretch. The Detroit Red Wings come to St. Paul on Monday.

Hold on tight because the season is about to get crazy.