Hynes also had praise for defenseman Zeev Buium, the Wild's top prospect, and his performance at the World Juniors.

The Minnesota Wild have had bad luck with injuries recently. Joel Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov, and Jacob Middleton headline the list of players who have missed time for a team with contending aspirations.

Currently, the Minnesota Wild (25-11-4) have five players on the injury report, including Kirill Kaprizov, in their matchup against the St. Louis Blues (19-18-4) at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday, January 7 at 8:00 PM ET.