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ST. PAUL -- Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t practice with his teammates Tuesday at TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul.
But he did make his way onto the ice as practice wrapped up, and he spent about 15 minutes in the crease taking shots.
Maybe a good sign that he’s getting close to returning to the lineup? Not necessarily.
“No time frame at all,” coach Dean Evason said. “Just started skating. He skated today. We’ll see what he does tomorrow and figure it out from there.”
It’s important to understand that Evason usually takes a noncommittal approach to injury questions. In other words, there’s a chance Fleury could be back in the lineup sooner rather than later. The next couple of days will be telling.
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“Everyone has a different time frame,” Evason said. “Every injury is different. It’s day by day. He’s on the ice. That’s a good thing.”
After bouncing back from a rough start to the 2022 season, Fleury hasn’t hasn’t played since a Nov. 15 loss to the Predators in Nashville. He suffered an upper-body injury in that game, and while he’s currently on injured reserve, he’s technically eligible to return as early as Wednesday if he’s deemed healthy enough to do so.
Does that mean Fleury could play at some point on this lengthy homestand?
“I don’t know,” Evason said. “The crystal ball, I broke it a long time ago.”
Greenway’s return
Is this the time winger Jordan Greenway finally gains some traction? He has returned from an upper-body injury twice this season and has suffered a setback on both occasions. His last appearance came during a Nov. 8 loss to the Kings in Los Angeles.
Now after missing the past couple of weeks, Greenway is in line to play Wednesday night when the Wild host the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center.
“We haven’t had him in our lineup a lot,” Evason said. “He brings a lot of different elements to the game and a lot of different elements to our team. His size being one of them. Are we excited he’s in the lineup? Absolutely.”
Goligoski back in
After scoring the game-winner over the weekend to lead the Wild to a 2-1 overtime win over the Hurricanes, veteran defenseman Alex Goligoski will be back in the lineup. He worked on the No. 1 power play during Tuesday’s practice, which suggests that young defenseman Calen Addison might be coming out of the lineup.
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“There’s earned situations,” Evason said. “He’s earned the right to go back into the lineup after last game.”
That type of positive reinforcement is something Evason has preached ever since he took over behind the bench.
“It’s not given, right? It’s earned,” Evason said. “We talk about that a lot. I hope that our players know that if they perform well, if they play the right way, that they’re going to get an opportunity to play again. You want to create that internal competition for sure within playing as a team.”
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