The Minnesota Wild got some good news this week when Brock Faber was medically cleared to return from a fractured skull. That news got even better on Thursday when The Athletic’s Joe Smith posted that Faber participated in practice for the first time since getting injured on Sept. 25.
Faber’s recovery should help the Wild, who have started the season with a record of 10-3-3, become even better. But the Wild could also be inching closer to full strength as defenseman Jared Spurgeon and forwards Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno were also at practice per Smith.
Obviously, fans will be marking down the days until Faber returns on the blue line. But the other returns could help the Wild and make them a dangerous team as the season rolls along.
Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon and Foligno brothers boost Minnesota Wild's injury outlook
The Wild have done well to tread water while Faber was out and there’s a case that term isn’t doing the team justice. While Faber is an emerging star, Minnesota also had to deal with injuries among their forwards as well as multiple injuries along the blue line, putting them at a steep disadvantage as they treked through a road-heavy schedule.
That’s why losing the Folignos was a bigger deal than expected. Nick Foligno went down with an upper-body injury in an Oct. 6 game against the Buffalo Sabres. Two days later, Marcus Foligno suffered a mid-body injury in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Neither player is a driver of offense, but they were forming a strong line centered by Michael McCarron before the injury. While the Wild have gotten a lot from their top line, the Folignos returning to the line with McCarron could allow Minnesota to play its brand of physical hockey and soften the opposing teams up to make life easier for the second and third lines.
The blue line has had its own gauntlet of injuries that began when Faber took a puck to the ear. While Quinn Hughes has remained healthy, the blue line has been unsettled ever since Spurgeon joined the group on Oct. 27 with a lower-body injury.
Spurgeon was listed as “week-to-week” due to the injury, but his presence at practice is a good sign. With the Folignos also nearing a return, the Wild could have the team they believed they had at the beginning of the year, which could make their good start even better.
Returning players boost Wild’s outlook into November
The Wild wouldn’t be wise to break up their top line of Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, which has outscored opponents by a score of 14-0 on 5-on-5 play this season. But if John Hynes wants to balance his scoring, they could go back to a top line of Kaprizov, Danila Yurov and Maxim Shabanov and a second line that includes Blake Coleman teaming with Eriksson Ek and Boldy.
The third line could have Bobby Brink, Ryan Hartman and Yakov Trenin, but the fourth line could be considered a 3B group if the Folignos and McCarron play the way they did to open the year.
Faber’s return will also reunite the Wild’s top pair of Hughes and Faber. But getting Spurgeon back would reunite their second pairing of Jonas Brodin and the third pairing of Maatta and either Zach Bogosian, David Spacek or Matt Kiersted.
Of course, that will happen when Faber returns to game action, which is still a few weeks away. But for a team that’s gotten off to a good start, seeing multiple players make their way back is a good thing and can help the Wild take advantage of their fast start.
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