Jonas Brodin returned for the Wild for Monday evening’s game against the New York Islanders at Xcel Energy Center. The veteran defenseman hadn’t played since Dec. 8 at Edmonton.

Asked if it was good to have one of his top defensemen back, coach John Hynes said, “Really good.”

“He’s worked really hard on his rehab, and obviously it’s nice to have him back,” the coach added. “Such a good player. Key part of the team, so excited to have him.”

Brodin suffered an injury to his right arm/hand when he was slammed into the end boards by Evander Kane during a 4-3 loss at Edmonton on Dec. 8 and missed the next 17 games.

That still isn’t as many has Jared Spurgeon has missed. The team captain missed the first 14 games after suffering an upper body injury in a preseason game at Chicago on Oct. 5 and since has been sidelined twice by a lower body injury. Currently on injured reserve, he has missed 26 total games.

Hynes said Monday he did not have an update on Spurgeon’s status.

Briefly

Marc-Andre Fleury was set to start in net for the Wild. He is one game shy of passing Patrick Roy for second place on the career wins list for an NHL goalie.