Since sustaining the injury on December 30 versus Winnipeg, Kaprizov has been out.
What kind of “upper-body injury” is Kirill Kaprizov, a star player for the Minnesota Wild, battling with?
NHL insider Michael Russo reported on a Thursday afternoon radio program with KFXN-FM 100.3’s Dan Barreiro in the Twin Cities that Kaprizov broke many ribs after being repeatedly cross-checked in the back by Winnipeg’s Brenden Dillon.
Russo seemed to divulge specifics about Kaprizov’s injuries when Barreiro forwarded an email from a listener asking whether Kaprizov could defend himself against opponents who are unduly harsh with him.
“First of all, I don’t think any Wild fan wants to see Kaprizov dropping the gloves, especially with Brenden Dillon. He is a resilient defenseman. This is the person who Marcus Foligno Superman struck a few years back. He is no stranger to combat. That is something that no one wants to witness. Nobody wants him to put himself in danger like that,” Russo stated. “Obviously in this case he had some broken ribs so he wasn’t about to fight Dillon.”
After being cross-checked in Game 6 of the Conference Finals in the 2021 playoffs, Tampa Bay star Nikita Kucherov suffered a non-displaced rib fracture. With the help of a nerve block injection and a flak jacket, he was able to play in the Stanley Cup Final.
And that’s exactly what Russo implied Kaprizov could do when he gets back. The Wild star is expected to play through pain while on injured reserve until this weekend, but it might take him longer to return to the ice.
“Yesterday when I was on the phone with [Wild GM Bill Guerin] he said 7-10 days probably, but again with the type of injury [Kaprizov] has, one, they gotta make sure he’s healed but there are ways to play through that depending on his pain threshold and nerve blockers they can throw in there and things like that,” Russo stated to Barreiro.
Kaprizov received the injury in last Saturday’s loss in Winnipeg. Dillon was not punished and the NHL has neither fined or suspended him for his detrimental acts.
