TORONTO — The Wild is planning on having Mats Zuccarello in action Thursday against the Maple Leafs after the winger sat out the previous game with an upper-body injury.
Wild planning to get Mats Zuccarello back vs. Maple Leafs; Jordan Greenway out
The Wild is planning on having Mats Zuccarello in action Thursday against the Maple Leafs, but Jordan Greenway has been ruled out.
February 24, 2022 at 5:39PM
Zuccarello practiced Wednesday and skated Thursday morning at Scotiabank Arena, but the team will have call-up Mason Shaw skate warmups ahead of puck drop in case Zuccarello can't play.
Jordan Greenway has already been ruled out; the winger has an upper-body injury.
"Maybe a little more serious than we thought obviously," coach Dean Evason said of Greenway. "But clearly not playing tonight makes it more serious than we anticipated. We'll just see how he progresses."
With Greenway out, the Wild will shift Nick Bjugstad to Greenway's spot alongside Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek — a promotion indicative of Bjugstad's recent play; the winger has three assists in two games since returning from a broken finger. Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen will start in net.
Greenway will remain on the road with the Wild. The trip wraps up Saturday at Calgary but before then, the Wild will close out its regular-season series against the Leafs.
In the first matchup, the Wild prevailed 4-3 in a shootout on Dec.4 at Xcel Energy Center after blowing a three-goal lead. Jason Spezza had two of those goals for Toronto and assisted on the third.
"They're a great team," Evason said. "Obviously, special players. We don't get last change, so it'll be an opportunity for everybody to take responsibility when we're on the ice that we do the right things to look after their special, gifted players."
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Nick Bjugstad-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno
Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy
Nico Sturm-Connor Dewar-Brandon Duhaime
Alex Goligoski-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Dmitry Kulikov
Jon Merrill-Calen Addison
Kaapo Kahkonen
Key numbers:
2: Straight games with multiple points for winger Kevin Fiala.
2: Assists for center Joel Eriksson Ek in the Wild's last game against Toronto.
6: Points for rookie Matt Boldy in his last five contests.
8: Wins for Kahkonen over his last 10 starts.
10-4: Record for the Wild over its last 14 games vs. the Maple Leafs.
About the Maple Leafs:
Toronto is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at Columbus on Tuesday. That was the third straight game the team has dropped. Overall, the Maple Leafs are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games and sit third in the Atlantic Division at 32-14-4. The team is without defenseman Jake Muzzin, who's in concussion protocol. Toronto is 18-5-1 at home this season.
The Wild prevailed 5-4 on Tuesday night, moving back into first place in the NHL with a hard-fought victory in their first trip to Utah. Matt Boldy scored the winner in the shootout.
