Associated Press
The Minnesota Wild said defenseman Nick Schultz underwent an appendectomy Monday night.
The team said the operation was successful and Schultz was resting comfortably at a Twin Cities hospital.
Minnesota opens the Western Conference playoffs Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche. Schultz will probably miss the entire series.
Schultz played 81 games this season and had two goals and 15 points with a plus-9 rating.
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- The Wild have been trying over the past year to add some toughness, realizing postseason advancement in the rugged Western Conference will otherwise be nearly impossible.
The acquisitions of Todd Fedoruk and Chris Simon have been a big help, but an increase in physical play has been apparent up and down the lineup — even for the guys who have all of their front teeth.
The Avalanche are not exactly a bunch of bruisers like the Anaheim Ducks, who handed Minnesota a quick and painful exit from the last postseason on their way to hoisting the Stanley Cup.
But Colorado instigator Ian Laperriere served notice in Sunday’s shootout win that this promises to be a black, blue and perhaps blood-red matchup. Laperriere mixed it up in the third period and again in overtime with Gaborik, the 42-goal scorer who had never been in an NHL fight until then.
