BOSTON — When skating is the lifeblood of your career, and then they tell you you can’t skate for a few weeks, it leads to a notable lifestyle change, at least temporarily.
As he prepared for his return to Minnesota’s game night lineup on Tuesday morning at TD Garden, veteran Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin had a one-word description for his recovery from a lower body injury he suffered on Jan. 7 in the frantic final minutes of a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Blues.
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Boring.
“So, I’m excited to be back here tonight and finish off a good road trip here,” said Brodin, who blocked a shot late in that game, when he was stuck out on the ice for better than 3 minutes versus the Blues. In the immediate aftermath of the win, with adrenaline likely at work, Brodin seemed fine — elated even. But it was apparent a short time later that he had been injured.
“(After) a couple days, it hurt more and more and then I couldn’t play,” said Brodin, who has four goals and a dozen assists in the 31 games he has played this season. “It was a good win for sure. I was pretty tired there, too. It’s good to be back.”
Brodin said his first step to recovery was nearly three weeks without skating because the injury felt worse when he put pressure on it. That led to some frustration, and boredom.
“It was boring because your whole body feels good, but you can’t skate, really,” he said. “It’s just one of those boring ones. I had it a few years ago. It’s not fun.”
After Tuesday’s game in Boston, Brodin will be back at TD Garden soon, playing for Team Sweden in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. Sweden will have its hands full in the opener, facing Canada in Montreal on Feb. 12. Brodin said he is thankful for the timing of his return, and the ability to get a few games with the Wild under his belt before skating for his country.
With the Wild facing dynamic Boston offensive weapons like David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle on Tuesday, Wild coach John Hynes liked the timing of Brodin’s return, as well.
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“You’re getting a player that has a skill set that I think any team would welcome back into the lineup,” the coach said.
Hartman to appeal suspension
It is rare for the NHL to reduce a penalty once it has been levied by the league’s Department of Player Safety, but Hynes indicated on Tuesday that Ryan Hartman would appeal the 10-game suspension he was assessed this week for Saturday’s incident involving Ottawa forward Tim Stutzle.
Hartman was not made available for interviews on Tuesday, pending the appeal process, and Hynes said in the interim there is not much to be said about the latest missing member of the Wild lineup, albeit this one is not injury-related.
“I was a little surprised at the length of it, but there’s really not much to say about it. The league makes the decision, and obviously the decision has been made and and we have to live with it. So, we’ve just gotta move on from it.” said Hynes, who acknowledged the suspension is similar to an injury because of its length.
If the length stands, and because of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Hartman won’t be eligible to play again until a March 9 game against Pittsburgh.
“You don’t have any control over it, at least from a coaching perspective. The decision was made,” Hynes said. “So, now what’s the plans to get through that and get Hartman on a plan? We need to make sure that he’s ready eventually when he comes back to play. That’s a long time off, so our focus shifts to a plan for him to stay ready and fit and practice and training, and get him ready to go when he does come back.
“Then the other side is the team side of it. Now you’ve gotta move some things around and make the best decisions we can, night in and night out, for the team.”
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