Latest Update on Yet Another Injured MN Wild Defenseman

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Jake Middleton, Minnesota Wild
Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

It’s crunch time for the Minnesota Wild. They currently own a 41-29-7 record and have 89 points. That puts the in fifth place among the NHL Central Division, and they currently hold the second wild card spot in the West.

With five games remaining, the Wild’s losing streak hit four games on Friday night, in the latest devastating loss of the past few weeks, this time at the hands of the also-crashing New York Islanders. At this point, the first wild card feels impossible. Instead, this looks like a team just trying to limp its injury-riddled roster to the finish line before anyone else catches them.

Still without forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov, the Minnesota Wild didn’t just lose the game last night, they lost one of their top defensemen, Jake Middleton, just two weeks after Jonas Brodin returned to the blue line. He missed the end of February and three weeks of March with a lower body injury

Jake Middleton becomes latest Minnesota Wild injury

The injury happened when Middleton was pushed into the boards from behind by Isles center Bo Horvat, who knew immediately afterwards that he had screwed up. His push wasn’t aggressive. No matter how subtle it might have been, the nudge caused Middleton to lose his edge and tumble head-first into the boards.

Middleton tried to brace for impact, putting his arms up to the boards, but he immediately crumpled to the ice after impact. Horvat immediately came to check on his victim, before calling for Minnesota Wild trainers. No punches were thrown and Middleton was gingerly helped off the ice a few minutes later.

To John Hynes’ dismay, the penalty was only called a minor… and the MN Wild coach was livid, as was general manager Bill Guerin. After cooler heads prevailed, focus turned to the greater concern, which is obviously Middleton’s health. Horvat doesn’t have a reputation for being a dirty player, which is part of the reason why retaliation was so light.

Related: When Will Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek Return to MN Wild? We Still Don’t Know…

The Wild will put Middleton through additional tests on Saturday, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, to assess the damage of his “upper body injury”. Minnesota is back home on Sunday against the Dallas Stars. If Middleton has to miss time, it’ll be the second stretch he’s lost due to injury.

On the season, Jake has 8 goals and 12 assists on 21.56 TOI per night, two minutes more per night than ever before during his seven-year NHL career. He isn’t the only one, though.

At one point or another, every key contributor of the MN Wild’s blue line has missed notable time with injury. That includes Brock Faber, whose four games missed was shorter than his linemates. Jonas Brodin has sat out missed 32 regular season games, Jared Spurgeon 15 and Middleton 11 (so far).

Final stretch gets tougher for Wild

Minnesota is currently two points behind St. Louis (91 points) for the top wild card spot. Calgary is just five games back of the Wild’s final playoff spot, with 84 points. The Flames also have a pair of games in-hand. In other words, the Minnesota Wild are far from a cinch playoff team, with only five games left to play.

The Wild follow up Sunday’s home contest with one at The X on Wednesday against San Jose. Then, they cross the border to Canada to try and douse Calgary’s surging flame. That game will have massive implications.

Hynes needs his squad to pick up at least three wins over their final stretch of games, if they are going to avoid getting bumped out of the playoffs at the final horn of the regular season. Losing Jake Middleton would make the task all that much more difficult.

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