Minnesota Wild’s Marcus Foligno exits games with lower-body injury

The Minnesota Wild have announced that winger Marcus Foligno will not be returning to Monday night’s game against the Florida Panthers due to a lower-body injury.

The injury occurred in the second period of the game against the Panthers when Foligno blocked a shot that hit the inside of his left knee. As of this moment, it’s unknown as to whether it’s just a stinger that kept him out for the rest of the night, or if it has long-term implications.

Foligno registered just 8:14 of ice time in the game before leaving, with just a shot on goal and three blocked shots, one of which led to the injury. The Wild and Panthers were tied at one when Foligno exited the game.

It’s been a bit of a down year for Foligno compared to recent seasons, with just four goals, 11 assists and 15 points in 43 games this season. It’s been a tough regression for the 31-year-old, coming off a career year in 2021-22 where he had 23 goals, 19 assists, and 42 points in 74 games.

However, Foligno is known more for his defensive play than his offense, and while it’s not at the elite level it has been in past seasons, he’s still been excellent in his own end. He has a 50.41% 5v5 shot attempt share and 50.02% 5v5 expected goal share, although that’s more due to a lack of offense than middling defense.

A fourth round pick in 2009 by the Buffalo Sabres, Foligno spent six seasons in Buffalo before he was dealt to the Wild along with Tyler Ennis for Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville in 2017. Foligno is in the second year of a three year contract with a $3.1 million cap hit.

The Wild sat fourth in the Central Division with a 28-20-4 record before Monday’s game, just a point behind the Calgary Flames for the final wild card spot with two games in hand.