December 20, 2021, 10:51 PM
Minnesota Wild centre Joel Eriksson Ek exited Monday’s game against the Dallas Stars with an upper-body injury.
Stars defenceman Jani Hakanpaa took Eriksson Ek into the boards behind the Dallas net as the Wild centre had control of the puck midway through the second period.
“Doesn’t look good,” Wild coach Dean Evason said after a 7-4 loss.
Evason thought there should have been a penalty on the play.
“There’s no way Ek’s going to get into that position to get hurt if he does not get held up,” Evason said.
Eriksson Ek has 11 goals and nine assists in 30 games this season.
The six-foot-three Swede was a first-round pick (20th overall) by Minnesota in the 2015 NHL Draft.