Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov will miss the next three-to-four weeks after he was forced out of Wednesday’s win over the Winnipeg Jets with a lower-body injury.
Kaprizov was injured midway through the third period after colliding with Jets defenceman Logan Stanley. Stanley — who stands at six-foot-seven — fell on the five-foot-10 Kaprizov and the smaller scorer appeared to twist his legs awkwardly under the weight of the bigger defender.
“Well, he stopped and I tried to finish my check on him and he just went down. I just fell on top of him,” Stanley said after the game, according to Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe.
When asked if he lost his balance, Stanley replied: “Maybe a little bit, yeah. I wasn’t expecting him to go down. It’s just an unfortunate play.”
Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with 39 goals and 73 points in 65 games this season. The Wild — who are tied with the Stars for first in the Central Division — have 17 games remaining in the regular season over the next five weeks.
Forward Sammy Walker was recalled by Minntoesa in a corresponding move.