The Wild will be without a pair of forwards today against Calgary. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Kirill Kaprizov and center Marat Khusnutdinov are out with lower-body injuries. Kaprizov is off to a terrific start to the season as he’s tied for the league lead in scoring with 13 goals and 21 assists in just 19 games, putting him on pace to pass his career highs of 47 and 61 respectively, set in the 2021-22 season. As for Khusnutdinov, he’s off to a quiet start to his first full season in North America. The 22-year-old has played in all 19 games but has just two assists along with 15 blocks and 18 hits while averaging 11:26 of playing time. The injuries will permit Travis Boyd, recalled on an emergency basis last night, to make his Minnesota debut. Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that Kaprizov will be evaluated when the team is back home on Sunday while Khusnutdinov is listed as day-to-day.
More from the Central:
- Blackhawks prospect Frank Nazar is off to an impressive start to his first full professional season. Playing exclusively with AHL Rockford, the 20-year-old has eight goals and eight assists in 13 games. However, don’t expect him to be recalled for a while yet, at least. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that right now, the team feels his development is best served by continuing to play on the top line with the IceHogs while taking a regular turn on both special teams units, something that wouldn’t be the case if he was up with the big club. Accordingly, Nazar might have to wait until the second half of the season to get another look in Chicago after playing in three games to finish up last season.
- Still with the Blackhawks, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that goaltender Laurent Brossoit is still having issues with his right knee after undergoing surgery late in the summer. The 31-year-old has resumed skating at times but has had to shut those attempts back fairly quickly, leaving continued uncertainty as to when he might be able to make his season debut. In the meantime, current backup Arvid Soderblom is four appearances away from becoming waiver-eligible so by the time Brossoit comes back, they might be in a spot where they have to carry three goalies or risk having someone claimed off waivers.
- Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist took part in the morning skate today as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury, relays DLLS Sports’ Sam Nestler (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has played in 15 games so far this season, notching just one assist while logging a little under 14 minutes a night. Lundkvist won’t play tonight and as of yet, he is not on injured reserve.