The Minnesota Wild are hurting going into Game 3 with the Colorado Avalanche and the pain goes beyond their 2-0 series deficit. The Wild have been without center Joel Eriksson Ek for the first two games of the series after he was injured in the Game 6 series-clinching win over the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs and it has been unclear when he would be able to return.
After vague updates throughout the week, the Wild finally got good news on Friday when Eriksson Ek returned to practice according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith. While his status for Game 3 remains uncertain, the practice feels like a good sign for his availability and could give the Wild the netfront presence they’ve been missing in their series with the Avalanche.
Joel Eriksson Ek’s potential return weighs risk vs. reward for Wild
Eriksson Ek was injured as his foot jammed into the boards against the Stars. On Thursday, head coach John Hynes revealed that neither he or injured defenseman Jonas Brodin had skated since their lower body injuries happened in the first round, but he kept the door open for Eriksson Ek to play even if he didn’t practice on Friday.
Instead of sitting out, Eriksson Ek laced up the skates on Friday and now it’s up to the Wild to decide whether it’s worth throwing him out there.
The 29-year-old was in a similar situation during the 2023 playoffs when he tried to return from a lower body injury. But he lasted just 19 seconds before he was removed. After the Wild were eliminated, it was revealed that Eriksson Ek had tried to play on a broken leg and it left Minnesota down a forward for the remainder of a crucial Game 3 victory over the Stars.
But the Wild also have been miserable without Eriksson Ek in the playoffs. In the eight career playoff games he has missed due to injury, the Wild have a 1-7 record. The last two installments saw Minnesota look out of sync offensively and pushed around by the Avalanche in Game 2 and could help to have a chief instigator, who had 19 goals and 51 points during the regular season, breathe some life into the offense.
This is where the Wild need to tread carefully and not make Eriksson Ek’s injury situation worse and it’s not a guarantee that Eriksson Ek will return on Saturday night. But it’s getting late early and the Wild are still without Brodin after he missed practice on Friday.
With the season on the brink and the Wild in need of reinforcements, it could be enough to convince Eriksson Ek to give it a try and come to the rescue against the Avalanche in Game 3.
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