Greetings. Youngblood here. I was at practice today with Russo getting the day off. But I still got totally Russoed.
Let me explain.
I was on the phone -- with Russo -- while on the way to work today. I know. Driving and talking. Anyway, while on the phone, I got pulled over for speeding. Got a ticket. Grrrrr.. So I took the ticket, closed the window, got going to practice. When I arrived, the Wild PR folks already knew about the ticket. Russo called and told them.
After practice I made my way to the office, where everybody already knew. Russo called and told them. I'm surprised he didn't put a tweet about about it. I GOT A TICKET.
Anyway, back to practice.
Lots of injury news and updates here:
1. On the final drill of practice Wild defenseman Marco Scandella tried to push through a defender on his way to the net. He got there, big time, colliding with goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who grabbed his knee and fell to the ice, where he stayed for a while with Scandella, worried, hovering above. Backstrom was tended to by the medical staff and eventually rose on his own power and skated off. He looked to be moving around OK after practice, off the ice, as well.
Backstrom is slated to start tomorrow against Nashville, and coach Todd Richards said he assumed Backstrom would be fine, though Backstrom will be re-checked Friday morning to make sure.