Wild injury report: Minnesota handed major boost with Kirill Kaprizov & Joel Eriksson Ek's return

Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek are back. It's all coming together at the perfect time for the Minnesota Wild as their superstar winger and top centerman are both expected to make their long-awaited returns from injury on Wednesday night when they host the 32nd-place San Jose Sharks.

Kaprizov has missed a whopping 41 games this year with a lower-body injury that required surgery in late January following a very brief three-game return to the lineup. Meanwhile, Eriksson Ek has been in and out of the Wild lineup all season, having been sidelined for a total of 36 games, most recently because of a lower-body injury.

After coming out of the gates flying this season, Minnesota has been hanging on for dear life in recent months without its star forwards. Their imminent returns couldn't come at a better time for the Wild (91 points), who currently hold the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Calgary Flames (87 points).

Minnesota Wild scribe Michael Russo wrote an article for The Athletic sharing the latest injury update he's hearing from sources regarding Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek.

"As long as everything goes well in Wednesday's morning skate, both players are expected to play, mutiple NHL sources tell The Athletic," Russo wrote.

Kirill Kaprizov is in the fourth season of a five-year, $45,000,000 contract extension signed in Minnesota back in 2021, while Joel Eriksson Ek is in the fourth season of an eight-year, $42,000,000 deal also signed in 2021.

The outlook in Minnesota completely changes with Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek back

Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek are everything for the Minnesota Wild. Both players provide major offensive production while logging heavy workloads in all situations of the game.

Kaprizov was playing at a league-MVP level through his first 37 games of the season, having racked up 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in the process. Eriksson Ek's production was a bit down with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 42 games, though he was still logging almost 20 minutes of ice time a night for head coach John Hynes.

They should both return to their top-six, number one power-play unit roles with four games left in the regular season before the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Expect Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek to be back in action on Wednesday night when the Wild host the San Jose Sharks. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at Xcel Energy Center.