Minnesota received some good news on the injury front on Wednesday as winger Jason Zucker will return to the lineup tomorrow night, notes Dan Myers on the Wild’s team website. Zucker missed the last three games with a lower body injury and is in the midst of a career season with 46 points in 77 games.
The team also learned that defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who left Tuesday’s game early with a lower body issue of his own, isn’t expected to be out for long. In fact, head coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t rule him out from playing in one of the final two games before the playoffs get underway.
Still with the Wild, winger Chris Stewart is questionable to play on Thursday night as he continues to battle an illness.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- The Sabres have ruled out right winger Kyle Okposo for their remaining three games, reports Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News (Twitter link). Head coach Dan Bylsma noted that Okposo isn’t dealing with a case of the mumps although he added that team doctors are still trying to diagnose what the exact issue is. The mystery illness has kept Okposo out of the lineup for the past week. Okposo finishes his season with 19 goals and 26 assists in 65 games, matching the lowest output in a full campaign since 2011-12.
- Capitals blueliner John Carlson will sit for a second straight game tonight with a lower body issue. Head coach Barry Trotz noted to CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir (Twitter link) that it’s not a serious issue, classifying it as “day-to-day, hour-to-hour”. With Washington close to locking down top spot in the East (which could happen as early as tonight), they can afford to be cautious in order to ensure the team is as healthy as possible for the playoffs.
- Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh will resume skating tomorrow, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The captain has missed two straight games with an unspecified injury. Head coach Alain Vigneault suggested that he’d be comfortable with inserting McDonagh back into the lineup for the first game of the playoffs without getting him into another regular season game so it appears he will likely be out through the weekend as well.