Minnesota Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek won’t play against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday due to a head injury.
He got hurt during Saturday’s game when Seattle’s Adam Larsson accidentally elbowed him in the face, forcing him to leave halfway through the second period. To adjust for his absence, Minnesota called up Travis Boyd and sent Jesper Wallstedt down to the minor leagues.
Eriksson Ek has been a key player for Minnesota this season, spending 20 minutes on ice and scoring a goal in their first game. He played almost 12 minutes before getting injured on Saturday. As their top centerman, he worked closely with Matt Boldy, the team’s leading scorer. His absence leaves a big gap that might be filled by Marco Rossi or Ryan Hartman. Rossi has shown promise with two assists this season and improved his skills over the summer .
Team Adjustments:
With Eriksson Ek out, Boyd will join the bottom-six forwards after starting strong in AHL Iowa Wild’s first game of the season with two points. Last year, he scored eight points in 16 games for Arizona Coyotes but then got sidelined by a torn pectoral muscle in December. Before that setback, he had impressive seasons with Arizona scoring 35 and 34 points.
Fans might wonder if these changes will affect Minnesota’s performance against Winnipeg.
Boyd now has an opportunity to prove himself again after recovering from his injury. Will he shine like before? What do you think?
