Kurtis Foster hopes this will be the end of it. He wants it to be the last time he has to spend early mornings skating by himself, waiting for an injury to heal, biding time until he can return.
Foster, the Wild's 6-5 defenseman, practiced with the Wild on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, the first time he's done so since spraining his left knee Jan. 16 against Edmonton.
"It was good to get out there, work on my timing, make some passes, get into some battles in the corners," he said. "It went well."
Battles he had. He pushed and shoved a bit with Derek Boogaard during one drill. Afterward, Foster said he was ready to go.
"It's up to them now," he said, referring to the Wild management and coaching staff. "I feel good, I feel confident."
Coach Jacques Lemaire said he liked what he saw during practice and said Foster would return during the team's three-game home stand. But that return probably won't be tonight against Florida.
Lemaire appears as eager to have Foster back as Foster is to get on the ice. The Wild has had to deal with a succession of injuries to the defensive corps. Foster has been hurt twice; he missed a stretch of games in December after being hit in the throat by a puck ... while sitting on the bench. Petteri Nummelin and Keith Carney also have been injured.
Lemaire would like to have a seventh healthy defenseman so he could rest a player who is tired or struggling.
Foster, meanwhile, is one of the Wild's most effective defensemen when he's at the top of his game.
"He's been up and down," Lemaire said. "When he's up, he plays a great game. He can shoot the puck, make passes, skate. He could be one of our top defensemen."
The Wild should benefit from Foster's big shot on power plays, and his size could help against teams with an effective forecheck.
"This is the first season where I've missed significant time [because of injury]," he said. "I'm happy to be ready to come back. Now I want to help the team get some wins down the stretch."
One nasty flu bug
Lemaire knows how tough Brian Rolston is. That's how Lemaire knows the flu bug that has struck his high-scoring forward must be a nasty one.
Rolston, whose 232-game streak came to an end Tuesday in Dallas, missed practice again Wednesday. A visit to the doctor didn't help things, and Lemaire said Rolston likely would not play tonight against Florida.
"I know Roli," Lemaire said. "Roli would get back right away if he could. ... He doesn't feel good at all."
Boogaard back
The Wild might replace Rolston in the lineup with Derek Boogaard, rather than call up a player from Houston, as they did Tuesday.
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