Wild notes: Broken collarbone costs Zucker three months

WINNIPEG – Almost exactly a year ago, Jason Zucker underwent a medical procedure that originally was expected to be minor. But there was a complication, and Zucker had to undergo a second knee operation that ended his season prematurely.

Well, the hits keep coming for Zucker, and the Wild.

With Zucker in the midst of a breakout season, the Wild's second-leading goal scorer is scheduled to have surgery on a broken clavicle Thursday that will cause him to miss at least three months. The Wild's regular season ends in two.

As if the Wild's forward depth wasn't already being tested enough with veteran Matt Cooke out until mid-March following sports hernia surgery, coach Mike Yeo also announced before Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets that gritty left winger Ryan Carter is expected to miss more than a month because of an upper-body injury.

It's believed he sustained a shoulder injury after crashing into the end boards following a check from Vancouver's Yannick Weber on Monday night.

"This is where guys are going to have to step up," Yeo said before Tuesday's game. "Nino [Niederreiter] got his season off to a great start, and I feel like his last couple games have really been coming along. I feel like Charlie [Coyle's] game has been really coming along. We're going to need a guy like [Justin Fontaine], who's been in and out of the lineup a lot this year, … to step up now and deliver some important minutes.

"I'm hoping the new guys that come into the lineup are able to bring some energy and play an important role. But it's got to be by committee."

Zucker made the Wild as a fourth-liner and slowly gained more and more ice time until he rose to a top-six role, most recently on a line with Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville.

"We push our young players hard," Yeo said. "The reason for that is you only get one chance to do things right with these young players. And [Zucker's] a guy that I think is a perfect example of it, the way he's worked for his opportunities, the way that he's learned how to compete night in and night out, the way that he's learned how to play without the puck and to see the consistency that he brings now, it's a huge loss for us.

"I'm disappointed for our team because he developed so much chemistry with Mikko. I thought that line with Pommer and Mikko, they haven't been getting a ton of goals, but their chances, their play has been outstanding coming out of the break. I just feel like [Zucker's] progress was so high this year in all areas of the game."

Niederreiter, who scored on his first shift on Koivu's line against Vancouver, started on that line against the Jets. He said after Monday's game, "I just have to make sure I step in that position and make the best out of it. I have to make sure I keep playing my game and not think I have two great players next to me and start passing up shots. I have to make simple plays, shoot and be physical along the wall."

Coyle, who also said he must continue scoring and be a physical menace, began Tuesday's game centering Jordan Schroeder and Kyle Brodziak. Call-up Brett Sutter played the left side of Erik Haula and Fontaine, who returned from a groin injury.

• The Wild also recalled Stu Bickel, but he didn't play against the Jets. Defenseman Christian Folin was scratched for a sixth consecutive game, while goalie Niklas Backstrom was scratched as Darcy Kuemper backed up Devan Dubnyk.