Wild could have 2 critical reinforcements for Game 5 vs. Stars

The Minnesota Wild avoided disaster on Saturday by tying Game 4 late and winning a crucial swing game in overtime. The Dallas Stars stole Game 3 on the road to take a 2-1 series lead, and nearly demoralized Minnesota by sweeping the games at the Grand Casino Arena. The Wild were struggling with their depth after injuries to Mats Zuccarello and Yakov Trenin, but they could get them back on Tuesday evening, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen.

“We’ll see how (Zuccarello) felt and what his response is from that, but it was definitely a step in the right direction,” Wild head coach John Hynes said after practice on Monday. “(Trenin) is the same. It’s good that they both skated. Now we have to see how they’re feeling, and we’ll probably know more in the morning.”

The Wild are keeping their cards close to the vest, but they seemed to be planning for both to be back in the lineup at Monday’s practice. Zuccarello was skating in his normal place in the lineup and was preparing to be back on the team’s powerplay. He had three assists in Game 1, and Minnesota was 2-4 on the powerplay, something the Wild haven’t figured out since the injury.

Trenin also spent time with the lineup regulars, while Nico Sturm and Danila Yurov skated with the extras. If Zuccarello and Trenin were to return, it’d be those two players leaving the lineup. The Wild are hopeful that the boost from two of their regulars will be the jolt the team needs to get them over the hump for the rest of the series.

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