"It was an unfortunate accident" - Elliotte Friedman on Kirill Kaprizov injury

Minnesota Wild fans were left reeling after star forward Kirill Kaprizov was injured during their game against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night. Kaprizov suffered a lower-body injury during a stick collision with Jets defenseman Logan Stanley and was forced to leave the ice in the third period.

Hockey analyst Elliotte Friedman weighed the injury on the 32 Thoughts podcast, expressing his hope that Kirill Kaprizov's recovery time will be closer to three weeks rather than four.

"I just think everybody here agrees that nobody wanted to see this guy out of the playoffs. I am hoping that it will be closer to three weeks. Nobody wants to see a player injured, especially a player who can really determine a playoff series like he can at this time of the year." Friedman said

Despite the severity of the injury, Friedman did not believe that the collision between Kaprizov and Stanley was a dirty play. He characterized it as an unfortunate incident that resulted in a bad outcome, with Kaprizov attempting a reverse hit and Stanley's larger size leading to a collision that caused the injury.

"When I saw it, I didn’t think it was a dirty play, it looked like an unfortunate accident. I thought Kaprizov was trying to do a reverse hit to which I have no problem with and Stanley being so much bigger than him just folded onto him and it was a bad outcome." Friedman said

When Will Kirill Kaprizov Return? Wild Fans Await Star Forward's Comeback

Minnesota Wild fans are eagerly awaiting the return of star forward Kirill Kaprizov, who is expected to miss three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. The injury occurred during the team's 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9th, when Kaprizov had a stick collision with Jets defenseman Logan Stanley.

The Wild have not specified the exact nature of Kaprizov's injury, but it is clear that the team will need to find a way to cope without their leading scorer. Kaprizov has been a revelation in his first two seasons in the NHL, tallying 39 goals and 35 assists in 65 games this year after scoring 27 goals and 24 assists in 55 games as a rookie last season.

The Wild have 13 games remaining in the regular season, including matchups against the Arizona Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Vegas Golden Knights. If Kirill Kaprizov returns in three weeks, he could potentially play in the team's final four games of the regular season, which could be crucial in determining their playoff seeding.

It remains to be seen when Kirill Kaprizov will be cleared to return, but Minnesota Wild fans can take solace in the fact that the injury is not expected to be a long-term issue. In the meantime, the team will need to rally together and continue to play the hard-nosed style of hockey that has made them one of the top teams in the Central Division.