Saturday’s return of defenseman Jonas Brodin for the Wild’s 4-1 home win over Buffalo fueled hopes of Minnesota fans that the roster might be returning to some semblance of fuller health as the playoffs – and a brutal three-game stretch of games – approach.

Those hopes were dashed on Monday morning in Texas.

Meeting with reporters prior to the Wild’s Monday night game at Dallas, coach John Hynes revealed that Brodin – for the fifth time this season – would be out of the lineup, due to a lower body injury, although his return could come as soon as Tuesday. Hynes denied that Brodin aggravated the injury that had caused him to miss the Wild’s previous nine games, before playing 20 minutes versus the Sabres, and said it is more a situation where they want to ease the veteran blueliner back into the lineup gradually.

“It wasn’t reaggravation, it’s just day to day,” Hynes said after the team’s morning skate at American Airlines Center. “He’s been off for so long, and I think it was an opportunity for him to get into a game and play, and then we’re getting on a plane less than 24 hours later, going into a back-to-back. With (Brodin) I would classify him day to day every day as he’s coming back from this transition from having a long time off.”

Brodin, 31, has played in 39 games this season, recording four goals and 14 assists. The game at Dallas on Monday was the 31st this season that he has missed due to injury. Picked by the Wild 10th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, Brodin had a nine-game stint in the AHL in the 2012-13 season, and has been a mainstay on the Wild blue line since then.

Hynes said it is possible that Brodin could return to the lineup for this week’s home games versus Vegas and Washington, but they will be monitoring his load management.

“We’ll see how he feels today, see what it is tomorrow. Maybe he plays tomorrow, maybe he plays Thursday,” Hynes said. “We’re trying to be really cognizant of a player being off for a long time, with the type of injury that he had, making sure we’re putting him in situations where he can come back and play at a high level, but also not throwing him right into a situation where it could get reaggravated or something like that. Now it’s just more maintenance of the player and the schedule, making sure he’s going to be able to continue to play.”

On Sunday, the Wild recalled defenseman Cameron Crotty from Iowa as an extra skater if needed. Hynes said Declan Chisholm, who was a healthy scratch versus Buffalo, would return to the Minnesota blue line for the game in Dallas.

While they expect Brodin back in the lineup for a potential playoff run, Wild management is also keeping an eye on University of Denver sophomore Zeev Buium, who was named the NCHC’s most valuable player last week in St. Paul, and was the Wild’s first round draft pick last summer. Denver, which is the defending national champion, opens the 16-team NCAA tournament on Friday afternoon versus Providence in Manchester, N.H. There is a good chance that Buium could sign with the Wild as soon as the Pioneers’ season concludes.

NHL Honors Gustavsson

One not-so-secret element to Minnesota’s three-game win streak last week was the stellar goaltending they got from Filip Gustavsson. On Monday, the rest of the NHL took notice.

Gustavsson, 26, was named the league’s first star of the week, after he stopped 82 of the 84 shots he faced in wins over Los Angeles, Seattle and Buffalo. The 4-0 blanking of the Kraken was his 11st career shutout and his fifth of the season. He has appeared in 48 games for the Wild this season with a 28-15-4 record.

Related Articles

Contenders or pretenders? Wild may find out this week

Justin Brazeau’s net-front offense comes at the right time for Wild

Wild’s second-period salvo sinks Sabres

Wild players acknowledge ‘friendly fire’ is painful, but normal, in hockey

Post-suspension, Wild forward Ryan Hartman making the most of his return