The Minnesota Wild are sitting at a sweet 5-2-1 after Thursday’s intense 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues, but hold up, because something is seriously rattling the Emerald City sports world’s attention. That win came with a nasty hit from Blues goalie Joel Hofer who ran Kirill Kaprizov into the end boards while the Wild were up 5-2. Coach John Hynes said Kaprizov was “okay” after the game, and Jesper Wallstedt called Hofer’s move “a dirty play.” Fast forward to Saturday morning, and the vibes are anything but “okay.”
Where in the World are Kaprizov and Hughes?
Here’s the gut-punch news, courtesy of Joe Smith over at The Athletic: neither Kirill Kaprizov nor Quinn Hughes skated at Saturday’s practice. This wasn’t just any practice either, this was a rare one at Grand Casino Arena, open to season ticket holders, one day before they host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Nick Foligno, who’s already on injured reserve, also dipped out after the team photo. The Wild haven’t dropped a single word on *why* these two absolute studs were sidelined. Could it be a simple maintenance day for guys who log massive minutes? Or is it something way more serious? We’re all just waiting for Coach Hynes to spill the beans to the media.
This is a massive problem for the Wild, who simply cannot afford to lose either of these players right now. Kaprizov is an absolute beast, leading the entire NHL with nine goals and ranking fifth in the league with 14 points. Hughes, not to be outdone, has racked up 12 total points, with two goals and 10 assists, and get this: he’s notched a goal or an assist in *all eight* Wild games this season, averaging almost 27 minutes a night. The team is already missing Brock Faber and a host of other key players, so losing their two best guys would be a massive hit, one they’d be hard-pressed to overcome.
Good News (Sort Of) and What’s Next
Alright, let’s grab for some good news, because we sure need it. Marcus Foligno, who’s been chilling on injured reserve, was back on the ice, skating on the top line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, even taking Kaprizov’s spot. And Jared Spurgeon? He’s back too, paired up with Jonas Brodin on the top defensive pair. That’s a huge boost, no doubt. The practice lines looked like this without the missing stars: Foligno-Eriksson Ek-Boldy, Coleman-Hartman-Brink, Trenin-Yurov-Shabanov, Lorenz-McCarron-Pitlick, and on defense: Brodin-Spurgeon, Hunt-Bogosian, Kiersted-Spacek.
But here’s the thing, without Hughes, that blue line gets thin in a hurry. Matt Kiersted and David Spacek were the third pair in practice, and the injured Olli Maatta was still nowhere to be seen among the pairings. Kaprizov and Hughes have literally been carrying this banged-up group through their first eight games. So, what’s at stake? The Wild are set to host the Columbus Blue Jackets Sunday at 5 p.m. at Grand Casino Arena. You better believe everyone’s eyes are going to be glued to any update on Kaprizov and Hughes. Their status for that game is absolutely worth watching, because it could dictate everything.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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