Marcus Foligno to return to Minnesota Wild lineup from lower-body injury

Minnesota Wild winger Marcus Foligno will be returning to the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, according to Wild head coach Dean Evason.

Foligno missed the past three games with a lower-body injury. The Wild went 2-1-0 in his absence, beating the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals with a loss to the Boston Bruins in the middle of those wins.

Foligno will return to the lineup playing alongside Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello, replacing Kirill Kaprizov on that top line while the star winger is sidelined with a lower-body injury of his own. It will be the first time this trio has played on a legitimate line together for a game this season, as they have less than a minute of ice time together scattered over the course of the year.

Evason also alluded to there being a couple of question marks up front for the team, so the lineup will likely be losing as much they’re gaining for Tuesday’s game. There’s no confirmation as to who those question marks are, but if it’s of any concern we’ll know before the start of the game.

Foligno has taken a step back from his career year offensively last season, with just 6 goals, 13 assists, and 19 points in 53 games. That said, he’s a strong defensive forward as well, so he still has plenty to bring to the Wild every night.

Foligno was a fourth round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2009, and spent six seasons with the club before he was dealt to the Wild. He’s in the second year of a three-year deal with a $3.1 million cap hit.

It’s a big boost for a Wild team in hot pursuit of the top spot of the Central Division and the Western Conference. They currently sit in third with a 40-22-8 record, and are a point back of the Dallas Stars for first in the Central and four back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the West.