Return of Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek to Wild still uncertain

NEW YORK ‐ Points are trickling in for the Wild, even slower than goals from their beleaguered offense.

They’ve won just once in their past six games going into their road trip finale Friday vs. the New York Islanders, their losses running the gamut — from good tries to bad looks. The result is a neck-and-neck Western Conference wild-card race with St. Louis, the NHL’s hottest team after rattling off 10 consecutive victories.

“This was going to be a playoff-style road trip,” coach John Hynes said. “So, to get points on the trip is important, but we got to find a way to get two on Friday.”

As the games remaining on the Wild’s schedule dwindle, so does the opportunity to reintegrate injured forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek.

Fortunately for the Wild, they’ve received positive news on both, but neither player has any control over what situation they’ll be joining when they’ve recovered: That’s up to the current lineup.

“Obviously, it’s a big boost for a team to get them back and welcome them back,” veteran winger Mats Zuccarello said. “But we need to play good as a team to help them get back in the flow. We can’t expect those two guys to come back and turn everything around by themselves.

“We gotta help them ease into the game.”

This transition isn’t imminent.

Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek have left the trip and gone back to Minnesota after Kaprizov met with his doctor and was given the green light to start receiving contact on the ice. The Wild are hopeful he will play before the regular season ends April 15 vs. Anaheim, but Hynes said there isn’t a specific date in mind.

With Eriksson Ek, he’s nearly six weeks into a six- to eight-week recovery; unlike Kaprizov, he didn’t undergo surgery for his lower-body injury.

“Of course we’re looking forward,” center Marco Rossi said. “But they’re not back yet. We try not to focus on that. We try to focus on the team we have right now.”

That version of the Wild has banked two points through two games on this trip and four out of a possible 12 during their past six.

They’ve made strides on offense, with more players becoming factors. Marcus Foligno has earned a promotion to the top line, Marcus Johansson was involved in all but one goal in the 5-4 overtime loss to the Rangers on Wednesday, and Gustav Nyquist scored in that game for the first time since getting traded from Nashville on March 1. Nyquist has four assists in 16 games.

“It’s felt better and better,” said Nyquist, who’s in his second stint with the team after the Wild also added the winger for their playoff push two years ago. “I feel like I’ve had my chances in previous games, too, but I just haven’t been able to put the puck in the net. So, obviously that was nice to do.”

Johansson and Nyquist teamed up twice, in the first period and later during a penalty kill for the team’s fourth shorthanded goal.

“Both those guys played really well,” Hynes said. “I thought Gus [this] was one of his better games. Was nice to see him get rewarded on the scoresheet, for sure. Jojo, I think, has been playing really strong for us for a while now.”

The penalty kill has also improved, getting scored on just twice during their last 10 shorthanded situations.

Against the Rangers, they were perfect, going 4-for-4, including three kills in the third period to preserve a 4-4 tie.

“The guys are confident,” Hynes said, “and [Wednesday] the details were good. We won some faceoffs. We had good clears. We shared the puck when we could share it. We didn’t just throw it away.”

What cost the Wild the most was a non-issue last month when they had their worst scoring rut, and that was self-inflicted trouble: Two New York goals came off Wild turnovers, and the Wild had a goal by Zuccarello disallowed due to goaltender interference.

“There were some mistakes on our part,” Hynes said. “But I think the competitiveness and the battle level to push through was important for us.”

When the Wild have succeeded without Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek, they’ve been sharp, choosing the least resistance on their path to victory.

If they can get back on that track and stay opportunistic on offense, their trip can still be productive.

“This time of year is all about winning, and you got to get points,” Hynes said. “We’d like to get two, and that’s going to be our objective on Friday.”