ST. PAUL — Kirill Kaprizov didn’t feel like himself. He wasn’t shy about that.
Asked how he felt like he played last week in his return to the Wild lineup, the star forward wasn’t exactly pleased with his performance.
“It was a tough start,” he said. “I hope to be better.”
The fact that Kaprizov played in any capacity was a win for the Wild. Some thought he might miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a lower-body injury in a March 8 game against Winnipeg.
Not the case as Kaprizov came back sooner than expected. He played against the St. Louis Blues a week and a half ago, logging 20 minutes, 26 seconds. He followed that up by playing against the Jets a few days later, logging 22 minutes, 13 seconds against Jets.
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“I’m really glad I played,” he said. “It was really important for me to get the rust off.”
That should help as the Wild prepare for their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars. Game 1 is in Dallas on Monday night with puck drop set for 8:30 p.m.
“I feel like I’m starting to get back to myself,” Kaprizov said. “I’m really excited for the series.”
The marquee matchup of the series will be Kaprizov going up against Stars winger Jason Robertson. After finishing No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the race for the Calder Trophy in the past, Kaprizov and Robertson have both taken their games to the next level.
Not that Kaprizov is thinking too much about Robertson in particular.
“We need to focus on our game, not necessarily the opponent’s game,” he said. “If we do what we do right, we can beat anyone.”
Eriksson Ek will travel
After skating by himself again on Sunday morning, the second day in a row he’s done so, Joel Eriksson Ek boarded the team charter destined for Dallas. That’s a good sign as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury.
Usually, the Wild have a strict protocol with the recovery process. The injured player touches ice with skating coach Andy Ness, which, as of right now, is all Eriksson Ek has done. Then, the injured player gets cleared to practice, and if he responds well to that, gets cleared for a game.
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That doesn’t necessarily apply in the playoffs. According to coach Dean Evason, if Eriksson Ek is cleared by the doctors, he will be in the Wild lineup. Asked if Eriksson Ek will be available for Game 1, Evason responded, “Always a chance.”
Though that should probably be taken with a grain of salt, it seems Eriksson Ek will be available at some point in the first round.
Klingberg banged up
There’s a chance that John Klingberg will miss Game 1 after suffering a lower-body injury in the lead-up to the first round.
He got banged up on Saturday and did not practice with the team on Sunday. Thus, it’s unclear if he will play on Monday.
“We’ll see,” Evason said. “We’re not sure yet.”
Even if Klingberg does play, it appears rookie Brock Faber is in position to make his playoff debut.
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