The Minnesota Wild are in a bind, as injuries, illnesses, and cap issues could force the team to play shorthanded Tuesday versus the Buffalo Sabres.
The Wild, who sit less than $1.5 million below the salary cap, have been hit with a slew of injuries that will challenge the team's ability to ice a full lineup.
Four forwards are hurt, and the Wild have only enough cap space for two call-ups, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
To make matters worse, forward Chris Stewart left practice Monday with an illness, sent home by coach Bruce Boudreau, who hoped the bug wouldn't spread to more members of his lineup.
"I was really grumpy this morning because coaches like to have really good practices," said Boudreau, according to Dan Myers of NHL.com reporters. "I know the reasons why we only had eight forwards and six defenseman out there, but it doesn't make practice any easier if you want to keep getting better, especially earlier on in the season."
Defenseman Nate Prosser skated as a forward at practice Monday, simply to provide the team with three forward lines.
It's been a rough few days for the Wild, as the team continues to sort through its injury concerns. Fortunately, the team has a light schedule to start November, with just three games in 11 days.
On Saturday, the Wild announced that star forward Zach Parise has been sidelined week to week with a lower-body injury. Parise has scored six points in eight games this season.
Meanwhile, Boudreau believes forward Erik Haula will be out longer than expected, pegging his return in the 7-to-10 day timeframe. Haula has appeared in four games this season, missing the last five with a lower-body injury.
Boudreau also updated the status of winger Zac Dalpe, who will miss "multiple weeks" with a lower-body injury. Dalpe sustained the injury Saturday vs. the Dallas Stars, playing just 5:53.
"When you're not able to practice full bore because of numbers, it's sort of irritating," Boudreau added. "We're obviously going to call up a couple of guys (from AHL Iowa) for tomorrow, and hopefully some of our injured guys are a little quicker on the mend than initially thought.
"Our goal is to get through tomorrow and then hopefully by Saturday (when the Wild play the Colorado Avalanche) we've got some of the walking wounded back."
It's not unprecedented news in NHL circles. During the 2010 season, a host of cap issues saw the New Jersey Devils often skate with as few 17 skaters.
As for the Wild, a 4-0 win over Dallas on Saturday pushed the team's record to 6-2-1 through nine games. With 13 points, Minnesota sits atop the Central and just a single point behind the Western Conference's top seeded Edmonton Oilers.
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