Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke missed practice today as the Wild prepare to open their first round playoff series at St. Louis.
Cooke, who won the last forward spot after returning to the lineup, was experiencing “some discomfort,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said.
According to the Pioneer Press, Yeo didn’t elaborate on Cooke’s injury, but it could keep him out of Game 1 of the Wild’s playoff series with St. Louis.
“I’d say he’s definitely a possibility [for Thursday],” Yeo told reporters on Tuesday. “It’ll just be a matter of us deciding if he’s not a hundred percent, then we wouldn’t put him in. We’ve got healthy guys but I don’t think this is something that’s going to linger.”
No Matt Cooke for the Wild this morning. Ryan Carter taking his spot with Fontaine and Brodziak.
— Anthony LaPanta (@AnthonyLaPanta) April 14, 2015
“That’s the way we went today,” Yeo added. “I’d say there’s definitely a possibility for that, but we’ve got other options, based on identity, based on roles. But that’s the look we went with today.”
Cooke was limited to just 29 games during the season, undergoing sports hernia surgery in February that developed during the second game of the year, but the injury isn’t related to that.
Like Cooke, Carter gives the Wild a physical presence, he is also the only other Wild player (other than Cooke) who has his name already on the Stanley Cup.
If that’s the move, the Star Tribune notes that it would mean Erik Haula, Sean Bergenheim and Jordan Schroeder are all scratches.
