Wild Injuries Should Raise Eyebrows

The way the Minnesota Wild's season has started out, the team might as well be playing at HealthPartners Center.

All-star forward Marian Gaborik will sit out tonight's tilt against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., because of what the team is calling a "lower body injury." That's about as vague as the Toronto Maple Leafs' rebuilding plan.

Gaborik joins a MASH unit consisting of defenseman Marek Zidlicky (ankle), who has yet to play during the regular season; and forward Pierre-Marc Buschard (back) who will also sit along with right-winger Owen Nolan (lower body).

This is definitely not the way coach Jacques Lemaire wanted to start the season. Two games in, and the Wild has already called up a player from the minor-league affiliate (right-winger Cal Clutterbuck). It has to make one wonder what type of conditioning this team is going through leading up to the season opener. Sure, hockey is a rough sport fought with blades of steel and sticks of lumber. But four injuries in two games so serious that they prohibit players from hitting the ice has to raise some questions. If the Wild does not get healthier quick, Xcel Energy Center ticket holders might soon find themselves watching the Houston Aeros.