Minnesota is having itself a case of the Mondays.
The Wild have placed captain Mikko Koivu on injured reserve, along with goalie Josh Harding -- meaning the club will now be without its leading scorer and Vezina-caliber netminder for the foreseeable future.
Prior to these injuries, the Wild were already without Zach Parise (foot) and Jared Spurgeon (lower-body).
Koivu, 30, was hurt during Saturday’s 5-3 win over Washington after blocking a Nicklas Backstrom dump-in during the second period. The gritty Finn left momentarily but did return to assist on a pair of Ryan Suter goals, only to leave once again -- this time for good -- sitting out the final eight minutes of the game.
Koivu leads the Wild with 35 points this season and is 14th in the NHL in assists, with 27.
The Harding situation, meanwhile, continues to be murky. After being placed on IR in late December to undergo a change in his MS treatment protocol, the Wild goalie returned to play a pair of games -- a 5-4 loss to the Isles on Dec. 29 and a 2-1 loss to St. Louis on Dec. 31 -- before being sidelined again. The Wild are saying that Harding is “not feeling well” but not offering up much more in the way of diagnosis.
With two roster spots available, Minnesota recalled defenseman Jonathon Blum and forward Erik Haula from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League.