DALLAS — Mats Zuccarello and Yakov Trenin are returning to the Minnesota Wild lineup Tuesday night for Game 5 of the team’s first-round series against the Dallas Stars.
Zuccarello missed the past three games after being elbowed in the face by Stars defenseman Tyler Myers in Game 1. Trenin, the NHL’s regular-season hits leader, sustained an upper-body injury when he was checked in open ice by Stars forward Colin Blackwell in Game 2.
Zuccarello was back on his top-line right wing spot with Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman for warmups Tuesday, and Trenin was on the fourth line with Marcus and Nick Foligno, who was serving as the center. Michael McCarron was centering a third line flanked by Vladimir Tarasenko and Bobby Brink.
Nico Sturm and Danila Yurov are scratched to make room for the returns. Sturm was part of a solid fourth line with McCarron and Marcus Foligno in Game 4 and assisted on Foligno’s game-tying goal late in the third period of an eventual overtime win. Yurov admitted during a meeting with John Hynes on Tuesday morning that he has been caught off guard by how different the regular season is compared to the playoffs.
“I think Yurov’s been good,” Hynes said. “First playoff experience, he’s come in, he’s played well. I just think it’s like everything he’s done this year, he gets these new experiences. I think he learns on the fly pretty quick. Just, even, I talked to him this morning, actually, just about how he was doing and what he was thinking, and he said it’s different than the regular season. It’s not as creative plays. It’s a lot of battles. Less time and space. The game is more basic.
“He’s learning those things too on the fly, which has been good, and that’s him. He’s a really smart kid, and he’s able to adjust and adapt as needed.”
The Wild are hoping Zuccarello’s return can help unleash Kaprizov, who hasn’t scored a goal since Game 1, and the power play, which is 1-for-15 in three games without its best playmaker.
The Stars will be without Nils Lundkvist, after the steady No. 4 defenseman took a McCarron skate to the face in the second period of Game 3. Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan called it “a very deep cut” and said, “There’s a little bit of something else going on.” His status for Game 6 is in question, too. Gulutzan also said top Stars center Roope Hintz will miss Games 5 and 6, if not the whole series.
To replace Lundkvist, Gulutzan chose Ilya Lyubushkin over Alex Petrovic and Kyle Capobianco. Lyubushkin had a goal and eight assists in 53 games during the regular season. Lyubushkin was a regular down the stretch but hasn’t played since the season finale in Buffalo on April 15.
“You’re a professional athlete — you have to be ready no matter what, always,” Lyubushkin said before the game. “Is it difficult? It’s not difficult. You just have to jump in the game and play.”
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