The Minnesota Wild won their first playoff series since 2015 when they defeated the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round. That was step one in their mission to win the Stanley Cup, but their next step is to get past the Colorado Avalanche, which was no easy task. That has been evident two games into the series.
The Wild find themselves down 0-2 to the Avalanche, who have outscored them 14-8 thorugh two games. While the Avalanche were always going to be a tough opponent for the Wild, it doesn't help that they were without center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin. It appears that even with the extra rest before Game 3, they aren't returning any time soon.
While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Wild head coach John Hynes said he has no updates on either Eriksson Ek or Brodin, other than the two have not skated since they suffered their lower body injuries.
No update on Eriksson Ek or Brodin. Neither have skated since their injuries, Hynes said.
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) May 7, 2026
Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin nowhere near returning for Wild
That certainly isn't ideal, especially with the team needing to get back in the win column as soon as possible to have any chance at advancing to the Western Conference Final.
During an appearance on "The Sota Pod," The Athletic's Michael Russo discussed the potential returns for both Brodin and Eriksson Ek. Russo said that the Wild will likely have to play without Brodin for the rest of this series and the conference final. As for Eriksson Ek, Russo said he is dealing with a "significant injury" but that he'll try to skate on Friday.
Some potentially good news got floated on Thursday by Russo who gave a bit of an update that feels less nightmarish but still not great.
"As of the morning of Game 1, team sources said Eriksson Ek was hoping to try to play Saturday, but that was hardly set in stone. Hynes said Thursday that practicing on Friday wouldn’t necessarily determine whether the Swedish center plays in the game."Brodin, team sources said, will remain out for a while," Russo reported.
Eriksson Ek is a huge absence for the Wild, as he was their best players in the face-off circle in these playoffs. In their first round series against the Stars, he won 56.4 percent of his face-offs. Besides that, he has three goals and two assists in the six-game series.
As for Brodin, he is easily one of Minnesota's best defenders. Not to mention, not having him on the penalty kill has somehow made the Wild even worse when down a skater. So far in this series against Colorado, Minnesota gave three goals on seven power play opportunities. Let's face it, Colorado is the team you don't want to give an extra skater advantage to.
From the sounds of it, Eriksson Ek is more likely to return this series than Brodin, but that's still not a given.
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