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Home | Sports | Minnesota Wild

Sykora's concussion confirmed

Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Wild's Petr Sykora

The Wild has to deal with yet another injury.

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune

Last update: November 9, 2009 - 10:48 PM

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Wild coach Todd Richards knows all about concussions. He knows they're a nuisance, that they're scary and that the timetable for a return is about as cloudy as one might feel after sustaining one.

After Monday, he also knows that another of his players is out indefinitely because of one.

Tests done Sunday confirmed that forward Petr Sykora suffered a concussion Saturday, and Richards said he thought Sykora would undergo more tests this week.

Sykora hit his head on the glass on a check by Dallas pest Steve Ott during the third period of the Wild's 3-2 victory.

Ott, who has twice been suspended by the league for his conduct during his career, did not receive a penalty, but Richards called the hit on Sykora "questionable."

Regardless, the Wild now starts its four-game trip through Eastern Conference cities tonight in Toronto minus another player because of a head injury.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard also is out because of a concussion and is far from a return. He has not played since the Oct. 3 season opener in Columbus.

"Once we get those results back we'll have a better idea," Richards said of Sykora's status. "Still, concussions are a touchy thing. Sometimes they clear up, other times they linger. So he'll be kind of a day-to-day thing, or week-to-week, or month-to-month however long it takes."

Diagnosed concussions are more prevalent in the NHL these days, the result of better testing and the league's becoming more aware of serious aftereffects. That wasn't the case when Richards was a player.

He -- sort of -- remembers taking a hit so violent while skating with the AHL Springfield Indians in the early 1990s that after the game he could not remember where his locker stall was or his route home later that night.

"I got in my car and I drove [and] I know I skated the next day," Richards said. "It's stupid, it really is, but again that's just the way it was. It wasn't talked about as much, and as a player you just felt you got your bell rung -- and that's the term we used -- and you'll be OK."

In positive injury news for the Wild, defenseman Kim Johnsson, who has missed the past six games because of a shoulder injury, again practiced fully Monday and is all but certain to return to the lineup tonight.

Johnsson declared himself ready to play Monday and made sure to tell Richards as much. The coach, though, did not wholly confirm Johnsson will play against the Maple Leafs, instead opting to wait until today's morning skate to make that decision.

Forward Owen Nolan, who missed practice Sunday because of soreness, also practiced Monday.

Home sweet home

Tonight's game is a homecoming of sorts for Cal Clutterbuck. The second-year Wild forward was born in Welland, Ontario -- near Niagara Falls -- and cut his teeth in junior hockey with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors and the nearby Oshawa Generals.

He is expecting around 30 friends and family to be at the Air Canada Centre to watch his first NHL game in Toronto.

"Unfortunately, it's a rare opportunity to get into Toronto and play there," Clutterbuck said. "I'm looking forward just to playing in Toronto. Those [Maple Leafs] games are always on TV, that's what we watched. To be out there playing in one of those games is going to be pretty fun."

Staying put

Chuck Kobasew skated in Monday's practice with the number 2 on his helmet, not his assigned No. 12.

"Guess I'm going to a D-man number," he quipped, which drew some cackling from true defender Brent Burns.

In reality, the "1" sticker just fell off.

Kobasew will remain a forward.

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