Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov out three to four weeks with lower-body injury
The Minnesota Wild announced Thursday that Kirill Kaprizov will miss the next three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. The Wild called up Sammy Walker from the Iowa Wild to fill the hole in the lineup.
#mnwild Injury Update: Kirill Kaprizov is expected to miss three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. pic.twitter.com/DnHw6jit8F
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) March 9, 2023Kaprizov was injured during a play in the Wild’s game against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday evening. As he was playing the puck in the Jets’ zone, Winnipeg defenseman Logan Stanley sat on him to try to take control of the puck.
As the big defender pushed his 228 pounds on Kaprizov, the Wild star fell down awkwardly, in a “splits” position.
Kirill Kaprizov heads to the locker room after Logan Stanley falls on him. pic.twitter.com/UcjofxGpKW
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 9, 2023The news of this injury is a big blow to the Wild. Kaprizov has been their superstar player for the last three seasons and is currently leading the team in points. Through 65 games this year, he has 39 goals and 74 points, or a 49-goal, 93-point pace.
The Wild sit in second place in the Central Division, tied in points with the first-place Dallas Stars. According to MoneyPuck.com, they have a 96.7% chance of making the playoffs this year. They are 12 points ahead of the fourth-place team in their division, the Nashville Predators.
Fortunately for the Wild, this injury takes place at a point in the season where the team has already put themselves in a great position to make the playoffs. However, other players in the lineup will have to step up their game during Kaprizov’s absence.
The Wild play 14 games over the next month and it is important that they don’t give any opportunity for teams below them in the standings to make up ground on them.
In his NHL career, Kaprizov has played 201 games and has scored 113 goals and 233 points in that span, along with a +43 rating.