The Wild announced tonight that left wing Zach Parise, the team's leading scorer, is expected to miss between two to three weeks with a left foot contusion.
Both Parise and General Manager Chuck Fletcher said though that they actually believed they "dodged a bullet" by the news.
"I think we did dodge a little bit of a bullet with not having it broken or fractured or needing to get a surgery or anything on it," said Parise, who said he is wearing a walking boot. "If there's any somewhat good news, that would be it."
Said Fletcher: "I think we were expecting four to six weeks, so to me, it's disappointing to lose Zach for any amount of time, but when you look at the number of foot injuries that you see, it very easily could have been the four-to-six week scenario, and then you're talking 15 or 20 games. As crazy at it sounds, we're actually fairly pleased with the doctor's opinion today."
Parise was nailed by Alex Steen's one-timer on a late first-period penalty kill during Monday's 3-0 loss at St. Louis. He was late to the ice to begin the second period, then fought through three painful shifts before being lost for good. Once he took off his skate for the second time, he said the pain was just unbearable.
"At some point you just can't do it anymore," Parise said.
After the game, Parise was clear discomfort and only wore a dress sock on his left foot as he spoke to the media.
Parise's loss comes at the start of the Wild's toughest stretch so far this season. Eight of the next 10 games come against Phoenix, Colorado, Chicago, San Jose and Anaheim.