It was reported today that Mikko Koivu, captain of the Minnesota Wild, underwent successful surgery to repair a broken ankle. Koivu will be out approximately four weeks while he recovers.
The injury occurred during last Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals. On what should have been a hard dump in, Koivu was struck in the foot by Nicklas Backstrom’s attempt to send it in to the offensive zone. Koivu was only a few feet away from Backstrom when he was hit, and was in visible pain as he went down to the ice and made his way to the bench after returning to his feet.
Surprisingly, Koivu did not head straight to the locker room as one might think. In fact, just over three minutes later, the Wild captain was back on the ice during a 5 on 3 power-play. He stayed on the ice for just over a minute, and picked up two assists on Ryan Suter’s power-play goals. Koivu continued to play until halfway through the third period when he was sent to the locker room by Wild coach Mike Yeo.
The Minnesota Wild are currently without Zach Parise due to a foot injury, and losing Koivu will hurt the offense even more. Those two players have accounted for 62 points this season, including 23 goals. Parise and Koivu are both among the top four scorers for the Wild, with Koivu leading the team with 35 points.
The Wild are currently in a battle for the 8th seed in the Western Conference standings, and are hoping they can fight through these injuries and maintain their spot in the standings. They currently have 49 points through 44 games played, and are tied with the Phoenix Coyotes who have only played 41 games. The Dallas Stars are right on their tails as well with 47 points in 41 games.
