UPDATED
Wild second-line center Mikael Granlund, who has missed the past nine games with a concussion and 11 of the past 12 (really 12 in a row because he was lost one shift into his return Nov. 27 against Phoenix, returned to practice this morning at Xcel Energy Center.
Granlund, who had been skating on his own since last week, skated with extra forwards Justin Fontaine and Mike Rupp, which also indicates that Mike Yeo will return with the same lineup as the Colorado win on Tuesday against the red-hot Vancouver Canucks, who have won seven in a row.
Granlund said he felt surprisingly good on the ice, and coach Mike Yeo said athletic therapist Don Fuller told him that Granlund wants to play vs. the Canucks. Yeo said that's very doubtful, but Yeo said he would come on the upcoming road trip to practice and he is close to returning.
My guess is he plays against the Rangers because that would give him practices Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, but I've been wrong before and maybe Thursday's Pittsburgh game is a possibility.
The Wild could use him.
Including the Phoenix game that Granlund skated 29 seconds in, the Wild is 5-6-1 without Granlund with 18 goals scored (1.5 goals per game).
I do think Granlund needs to be more cognizant on the ice. He is 21 years old with a history of concussions. The Wild doesn't want Granlund to become the next Pierre-Marc Bouchard six years before Bouchard ever became the concussed version of Bouchard.