Jake Middleton avoided a serious injury when he was pushed head-first into the boards on Friday in Elmont, N.Y., but was unavailable for Sunday’s matinee against Dallas at Xcel Energy Center.
Officially, Middleton is out with an upper body injury after a push from Islanders alternate captain Bo Horvat in the second period of the Wild’s 3-1 loss. Middleton was racing to retrieve a puck in the corner when Horvat gave him a shove with his left hand, simultaneously tripping him with his stick.
Middleton went face-first into the boards and collapsed in a heap, and Horvat was immediately contrite, and later banged his stick on the ice while standing in the penalty box as Middleton left the ice.
“I would say day to day,” Hynes said.
Middleton wasn’t the only regular unavailable Sunday. Forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek remain out with lower body injuries. Although both skated with the team before a March 27 victory over the Capitals, neither has played a game in weeks and it’s unclear whether either will return before the regular season ends April 15 against Anaheim.
Kaprizov, tied for second on the team with 23 goals and third in points with 52, hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 26, and Eriksson Ek’s last games were in the Four Nations Cup in February. He’s on injured reserve.
“You know why I don’t like to give timelines; because it changes every day,” Hynes said when asked about the forwards on Sunday. “I truly do not have one. I can’t give you one.”
Before Sunday’s game, the Wild held the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference by four points over Calgary, where the Wild will play on Tuesday night. After Sunday, Minnesota has four regular-season games left.
Briefly
Defenseman Cameron Crotty, recalled from AHL Iowa on Saturday, was a healthy scratch.
