MorningSkate-1113-5

ST. PAUL -- After a lengthy stretch of relatively good luck when it comes to injuries, the Wild is trying to weather a couple of ailments to critical players heading into the holiday break.
Minnesota got some good news-bad news on that front following practice on Monday.
While captain Mikko Koivu is set to return Tuesday when the Wild faces the San Jose Sharks at Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota will be without defenseman Matt Dumba for at least the remainder of this week, due to an upper-body injury.

Originally hurt 10 days ago in Calgary, Koivu has been back on the ice for nearly a week. He was nearly ready to return for Saturday's rematch with Calgary, but the team decided to give him an extra couple of days.
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Dumba was injured early in that game as the Wild navigated much of the contest with just five available defensemen. Unfortunately for the Wild, filling Dumba's spot in the lineup won't be easy. A staple on the team's red-hot power play, Dumba leads all NHL defensemen with 12 goals. Still, Wild coach Bruce wasn't interested in finding excuses.
"If he's going to be out for a little bit, we've gotta suck it up and play better," Boudreau said. "He's a good player, but I look around the League and I see teams winning with a lot of good players out right now."
With Dumba out, Jared Spurgeon and Greg Pateryn will each see their roles increased, with Spurgeon moving back to the right side of Ryan Suter, and Pateryn moving up to play with Jonas Brodin on the second pairing.
It's an unusual bit of shuffling for a blue line that has been rather stable through the first third of the regular season.

Bruce Boudreau on status of Matt Dumba

"It's part of the game, you're out there constantly with different guys and especially last game, everyone was playing with everyone," Pateryn said. "It's not that strange, but at the end of the day, when you're playing with one guy for awhile, you kind of get to know where he is on the ice and build some chemistry. I'm looking forward to building some of that with Brodin]."
Playing with Brodin will be a little bit different for Pateryn than playing with Seeler, simply because the two have very different styles.
But don't expect Pateryn to change how he plays the game.
"My game is what it is and I'm not going to go out there and try to turn myself into something I don't need to be," Pateryn said. "I got myself here for a reason. Obviously, there's still areas I need to build all the time, but [I will] just stick to [my] game and do what [I] need to do."
With Dumba out for at least the next three games,
Nate Prosser will get his first crack at consistent playing time. The Elk River native skated in 57 games last season, all but one of which came with Minnesota, but has skated in just two games so far, largely because the Wild's blueline has been both healthy and effective.
Prosser will play on the right side of Nick Seeler, a pairing that was quietly effective down the stretch last season.
"I just want to get in and play that game that I can, play hard and like I did last year, just come in and play my game and be steady, be solid and mistake free," Prosser said. "That's where I'm at in my career and with this organization, I knew it coming in and I knew it while I was sitting and just skating and working to get into the lineup. I'm ready and I'm prepared and I'm looking forward to Tuesday."
Koivu was in a yellow jersey during Monday's practice, slotted between Jason Zucker and Luke Kunin. Zucker missed the game Saturday because of an illness, but looked no worse for the wear Monday.
Boudreau said Kunin has been making "young mistakes" but has impressed the coach with his speed.
"We're gonna give him a chance," Boudreau said. "Here's a young guy, he's playing with two pretty good hockey players, so it's a chance for him to show what he's got."
Jordan Greenway scored the Wild's lone goal on Saturday and played well enough with Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund to at least start there again on Tuesday.
Charlie Coyle remains between Zach Parise and Nino Niederreiter, while Joel Eriksson Ek was on a line with Marcus Foligno and Eric Fehr.
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