Wild lose Mats Zucarello to huge hit in game versus the Kraken

The last thing the Minnesota Wild needed was another injury to a top-six forward. After spending much of the season patching their line-up together due to various injuries, it's possible that coach John Hynes will have to find another combination after Mats Zuccarello took a huge hit in the first period against the Seattle Kraken.

With five minutes to go in the first period Zucarello is skating through the neutral zone and just after he passes the puck, Vince Dunn hits him with his shoulder. It appears that the main point of contact is with Zucarello's chest, but there may have been some contact with the head. Unfortunately, the momentum of the hit spins the veteran forward around and he lands heavily with his head making contact with the ice.

There was no call on the hit itself, but Dunn picked up a roughing penalty in the scrum that followed. Danila Yurov picked up a double-minor for roughing for his actions following the whistle. Minnesota killed off the penalty, but Zucarello wasn't on the bench for the second period. The Wild, who dressed an 11/7 line-up to start the game, were down to 10 forwards.

It's been a tough year for Zuccarello, who missed the start of the season with a lower-body injury. He didn't make his season debut until November 7, but has been effective since his return. In 14 games, he has 2 goals and 10 assists. He played a big role in the Wild's successful November, and provided some secondary scoring in the absence of Marco Rossi.

Should he miss any significant time, Minnesota will be hard-pressed to replace his scoring as they are already thin at the forward position.