Matt Dumba's return to the lineup lasted just one game.
Wild's Matt Dumba injured, Kaapo Kahkonen to start vs. Red Wings
Wild defenseman Matt Dumba won't play Monday against the Red Wings at Xcel Energy Center due to a lower-body injury.
February 14, 2022 at 7:01PM
The defenseman won't play Monday against the Red Wings at Xcel Energy Center after suffering a lower-body injury. Dumba skated Saturday in the 3-2 win over the Hurricanes after sitting out the previous two games with an upper-body injury.
"We're evaluating as we go here," coach Dean Evason said. "It's a funny situation. He played the entire game; doesn't actually know when he did it. We've tried to find when he did it, but the bottom line is he's out in tonight's hockey game and we'll evaluate going forward."
With Dumba unavailable, Jordie Benn will draw back into the lineup.
Benn will play with Alex Goligoski, and the Wild is pairing up captain Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin on the top unit.
Kaapo Kahkonen will be in net for the Wild. This is the sixth straight game the team has rotated its starting goalie, splitting the action between Kahkonen and Cam Talbot.
"We could have went either way," Evason said. "We talked about this game tonight and who we thought would give us, not the best opportunity because we think either one would, but then we voted on it and came up with Kaapo."
Up front, the Wild's forward lines remain the same.
Winger Marcus Foligno has one more game to serve on a two-game suspension for kneeing the Jets' Adam Lowry last week.
This is the first meeting between the Wild and Detroit since Feb.27, 2020.
"We've done a good job of not looking past anybody," Evason said. "We've always respected our opponent, and there's no reason not to. They've got special players on their hockey club. They play gritty. They've got veteran people. They play the game right. So, it'll be a good challenge for us."
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Brandon Duhaime
Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy
Victor Rask-Nico Sturm-Connor Dewar
Jonas Brodin-Jared Spurgeon
Jordie Benn-Alex Goligoski
Jon Merrill-Dmitry Kulikov
Kaapo Kahkonen
Key numbers:
2: Points for center Frederick Gaudreau Saturday vs. Carolina.
3: Goals or more for the Wild in 13 of its last 14 contests.
4: Multi-point games for winger Kevin Fiala over his past six games.
11: Wins by the Wild over the team's last 12 games at Xcel Energy Center.
99: Career games for center Nico Sturm.
About the Red Wings:
Detroit has won two in a row, sweeping a home-and-home against Philadelphia. Overall, the Red Wings are 22-21-6 and sit fifth in the Atlantic Division. Winger Lucas Raymond leads rookie scoring with 38 points. Among rookie defensemen, Moritz Seider has the most points at 32. Detroit is 7-12-3 on the road.
The NHL’s coaching carousel revealed itself again, a fight reminded us what has changed, and of course there was unpredictable matter involving a goalie.
