Mikael Backlund is day to day after leaving Calgary's 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday with a lower-body injury, and that puts the Flames in line for at least one more adjustment before Wild at Flames. Calgary already has several forwards in flux, with Ryan Huska saying there will be "a little moving around."
That matters now because both teams have already published projected lineups, and the Wild's side is not settled either. Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy were listed on the top line, while Blake Coleman, Ryan Hartman and Bobby Brink were slotted on the second. On Calgary's side, Aydar Suniev, Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich were listed together up front, with Joel Farabee, Ben Jones and Matt Coronato on the next line and Jones set to make his season debut after being recalled from Calgary of the AHL on Tuesday.
The Wild also had enough changes to make the matchup feel like a moving target. Brock Faber remained out with a skull fracture, Marcus Foligno was listed with a lower-body injury, Nick Foligno with an upper-body injury and Filip Gustavsson with a hip injury. Tyler Pitlick, Matt Kiersted and David Spacek were scratched, while Spurgeon and Maatta were set to return after missing four and three games, respectively, with upper-body injuries. John Hynes said Lorenz would also come back after missing Minnesota’s 4-3 overtime loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Backlund's status is the piece Calgary has to solve first. Day to day leaves room for a quick return, but it also leaves the Flames without certainty at center if the injury lingers, and Huska's warning about movement up front suggests the lineup card may not be final until close to puck drop. If Backlund cannot go, Calgary will need to absorb the loss without much time to spare.
