The Same Old Problems: Can the Wild Survive a Season Plagued by Injuries

In all honesty, the Wild have looked good so far. The games have been tight, but they’ve played well defensively and have been putting goals on the board at a much faster pace than is typical of Lemaire’s trap hockey. But can a team already suffering from so many injuries make it through the season and into the playoffs?

The Wild are a young team, and without a doubt they are a big question mark in the division this year. They have lost a lot of their veteran force in the off-season and are left with a team of highly talented young players who have not proven themselves yet.

The 6-2 victory in Florida on Thursday was the first test for a team that is losing forwards at an alarming pace. Playing with Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Owen Nolan sidelined due to “lower body injuries.” Both should still be out tonight, Bouchard for sure as he has been placed on injured reserve, and add Marian Gaborik and Marek Zidlicky to the list of players that will not be on the ice tonight. Gaborik is out with a “lower body injury*” and Zidlicky is still out with a sprained ankle.

Taking the spots of some of the best forwards on the team will be Cal Clutterbuck, who played in Thursday’s game against the Panthers, and Krys Kolanos is being called up for this evening’s game. In addition to pulling two players up from the Houston Aeros, defenseman Tomas Mojzis has been pulled from defense to wing, which will hopefully pay off in the same way as Lemaire's decision to make Brent Burns a defenseman when they acquired him.

The Wild performed strikingly well against the Panthers despite the injuries, and despite the offense not showing up in the first period. Tonight’s game may say a lot about how this season will go for the Wild, proving whether or not they are deep enough to make a run at the playoffs as a serious team that can pull through a laundry list of injuries. They have to be able to win in situations like this should they like to make it past the first round of the playoffs this year. You may remember that injuries was one of the reasons that the Wild, likely, struggled through last years post-season losing a a few of their best defensemen and having to pull up players from the Aeros repeatedly. If Koivu and Miettinen can continue to play as well as they have been (9 points and 7 points respectively in three games) there may be hope for the team to pull through and prove that you don't need a team of big stars to be a serious contender in the NHL.


*due to new IR regulations in the NHL, teams do not have to disclose what type of injury a player is out with. Gaborik has had chronic groin problems and has been nursing a strained quad since the preseason.