The Minnesota Wild got some very bad news on Kirill Kaprizov Tuesday. Life without Kirill over the next month+ will not be easy, and there’s a spot in the Western Conference playoff bracket riding on their ability to win games for another extended period of time without the greatest player in franchise history.

The Minnesota Wild placed their top-scoring contributor on LTIR on Friday in Kirill Kaprizov because of an aggravated lower-body injury. Minnesota has been one of the NHL's biggest surprises in 2024-24, sitting in second place of the Central Division with 58 points.

Missing this many games all but eliminates him from contention no matter how well he has played or how much he has produced this season.

The Minnesota Wild will face a minimum of four weeks without superstar Kirill Kaprizov after it was determined Tuesday that he requires surgery to repair his lingering lower-body injury. Sources close to Kaprizov said the winger is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday.

The Minnesota Wild play against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 6:00 p.m. Minnesota will be without the services of star left winger Kirill Kaprizov. Kaprizov is dealing with a lower body injury that has required surgery,

PAUL - The Minnesota Wild will be without their star forward Kirill Kaprizov for a good stretch of time. He missed practice on Tuesday after playing in the last three games. He had two assists in those three games but was feeling uncomfortable,

Kaprizov had a couple scoring chances for the Wild (28-16-4), who were delighted to get their superstar back after he missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury. Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for Utah (21-19-7) in what was just their second shutout win of the season.

Are the Minnesota Wild going to be forced out of St. Paul? That's what NHL commissioner Gary Bettman seemed to threaten recently.

Wild GM Bill Guerin said Tuesday Kirill Kaprizov needs surgery on a lower body injury and is out at least four weeks.

The top seven all have positive goal differentials. Every other team sits in the negative. Those top seven teams all have at least 22 regulation wins. No other Western Conference team has more than 17. Yes, that's a gap, which is good news for whatever team locks down the top playoff seed in the conference.

Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, Barrett Hayton scored twice and Utah beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Thursday night for its third straight victory.