The Minnesota Wild will open their second-round NHL playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday after eliminating the Dallas Stars in six games on Thursday.
Minnesota enters the matchup after an easy 5-2 closeout win in Game 6, but will begin the series against the Avs dealing with key lineup questions following injuries sustained late in the first round.
Among those are Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin and center Joel Eriksson Ek. The latter played a major role in the opening round, scoring three goals and assisting on two more in six games while averaging 23:44 time on ice.
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Eriksson Ek was injured in Game 6 against Dallas after crashing into the boards in the third period, but returned to finish the game.
With his availability for Game 1 unclear entering the weekend, The Athletic's Michael Russo delivered bad news about it on Sunday morning.
Russo reported that Eriksson Ek will not be available for the start of the series against Colorado, missing the first two games as he didn't fly with the team.
“The Minnesota Wild will be without Joel Eriksson Ek, their best two-way center, for the start of their second-round series with Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night,” Russo wrote. “Eriksson Ek did not accompany the team to Colorado and won’t play Games 1 and 2 because of a lower-body injury.”
According to Russo, Brodin will also miss the opening games, remaining in Minnesota to nurse his lower-body injury. The Wild are expected to reassess both players following the break between Games 2 and 3.
Game 1 between the Avalanche and the Wild is scheduled for Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
