dot, Fiala sent a pass to Mattias Ekholm at the middle of the blue line. There, the Swedish defenseman sent a one-timer toward the Rangers net and Bonino was there to redirect the shot past Lund

ST. PAUL http://www.officialstarsproonline.com/authentic-adidas-jason-spezza-jersey , Minn. (AP) — Their hold on a spot in the playoffs hardly firm, the Minnesota Wild’s streak of six straight postseason appearances took a hit when captain Mikko Koivu tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee .For the 35-year-old Koivu, who has never advanced past the Western Conference semifinals and has just a 16-39 record with the Wild in the playoffs, this severe late-career injury was a most unwelcome development even for a determined, intense player like him.For the Wild, the absence of their second-line center and best defensive forward will be impossible to cover up.For general manager Paul Fenton it created an unexpected complication to an already unclear picture about how to approach the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 25. Is this a postseason-caliber team, with the opportunity to make some noise in a tournament that’s one of the most unpredictable in sports? Or are the Wild bound for mid-April vacations and a higher-than-usual draft pick? Throughout his first season on the job, well, Fenton has acknowledged his own uncertainty.Should he try to buy and bring in a veteran center for the final push? Or start selling to restock the prospect pool? Stay tuned was Fenton’s answer to that question on Thursday morning, before the Wild hosted Edmonton.“I’m going to watch them play here a little bit. I actually have meetings with our staff to talk about where we are and how we are going forward here,” Fenton said. “I’m not trying to be mysterious. You guys watch our team as much and you look at the standings. Everybody is in it. It isn’t like we can say ‘Yes,’ or ‘No,’ or ‘You’re definitely in,’ or ‘You’re definitely out.’ It’s going to be a dogfight right to the end.”The Wild entered play Thursday in fourth place in the Central Division and in control of the first wild card spot John Klingberg Jersey , with one game in hand and a three-point lead on Vancouver. They haven’t produced a winning streak longer than three games since a five-game run that ended on Oct. 29, and in the first three games this month out of their bye week they snagged just two of six points.“It’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up and to make their mark,” Fenton said.The recently acquired Victor Rask will move up one line. Joel Eriksson Ek, who was recalled from the AHL after Koivu was hurt at Buffalo on Tuesday night, also will be heavily relied on.“We’re really going to miss Mikko, because he might be the best player this franchise has ever seen,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But if you sit and pout and go, ‘Woe is me,’ you’re going to be all done.”Koivu, who will have surgery Friday, did not speak to reporters. Fenton declined to speculate on his readiness for training camp in September, but the typical recovery timeline for an ACL would put his availability for the 2019-20 season opener in doubt. That’s the final year on Koivu’s contract, with a $5.5 million salary cap hit.In the meantime, his defense will unquestionably be missed the most.“That’s my favorite part of his game Mattias Janmark Jersey ,” goalie Devan Dubnyk said.Koivu missed just three or fewer games in eight of his first 13 seasons in the NHL. This one will be his career low for a non-lockout schedule.“I’m sure there’s a lot of teams in the league that play against this team that are thinking that, ‘Finally, we don’t have to play against that weight and size that he brings to the game,’ because he’s a very competitive guy,” Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said. “I’ve seen him wear down a lot of good centers.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jesper Fast made an immediate impact in his return to the New York lineup after missing five games due to an upper body injury.Fast scored two goals, including the game winner, and added an assist as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist, Marc Stall added a score and Mika Zibanejad had a career-high four assists for the Rangers, who earned their first road win in regulation this season. Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves.“I’m not scoring the goals, I’m just trying to set them up,” said Zibanejad, who centered a line with Kreider and Fast. “We’ve been playing together before and it was really clicking back then. We just went back to how we played. We find each other pretty well out there. It’s nice to see (Fast) come back and get a couple.”Nick Bonino scored a pair of power-play goals and Kevin Fiala also scored and had two assists for the Predators, who have lost six straight. Pekka Rinne made 18 saves.“You can’t lose six in a row Radek Faksa Jersey ,” Bonino said. “Not in this league, not in this division, not with the parity there is. Just gotta get better.”The Rangers were trailing 3-2 entering the third, but Staal and Fast scored in just over a three-minute span early in the period, giving New York the lead.Staal converted a wrist shot from the slot off of a 3-on-2 rush at 4:23, then Fast scored his second of the night off a slap shot from the slot to make it 4-3.“There’s a lot of different ways to win hockey games, and each game presents a different challenge,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “This one presented a challenge of being down 3-2, getting two goals in the third and then having to kill a penalty at a key time and doing a great job on the 6-on-5.”Lundqvist stopped a one-timer off the stick of Nashville captain Roman Josi with 23.2 remaining in the game with Rinne lifted for an extra attacker to preserve the win.“It was definitely a battle, but it was a fun game to play,” Lundqvist said. “They’re a good team. They’re pretty balanced — good forwards, really good D, they move the puck well.”Kreider scored the game’s first goal at 2:42 of the opening period on a power play.Above the right circle, Zibanejad faked a slap shot and then sent a pass to Kreider Authentic Stephen Johns Jersey , who was just above the goal line to Rinne’s right, where he was able to deflect the puck over the shoulder of the Finnish keeper.Kreider’s 20 goals lead the Rangers. He has scored in four consecutive games and five of his last six.The goal came just seven seconds after Predators coach Peter Laviolette was assessed a bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Laviolette was unhappy with a hit former Predators player Cody McLeod delivered to defenseman P.K. Subban deep in the Nashville zone.“It’s a loss,” Laviolette said. “It’s tough. They’re mounting. We’ve got to put an end to it. We did enough good things through the course of the game. We got ourselves a lead going into the third. I think that’s what makes it a tough one to swallow because typically we’re good in that situation.”Bonino tied the game at 1-all at 8:43 of the first.From the left faceoff dot, Fiala sent a pass to Mattias Ekholm at the middle of the blue line. There, the Swedish defenseman sent a one-timer toward the Rangers net and Bonino was there to redirect the shot past Lundqvist.New York made it 2-1 at 3:51 of the second. From behind the Nashville net, Zibanejad sent a pass to Fast, who was alone in the slot. He beat Rinne with a quick shot on the blocker side.Fiala tied the game again at 4:44 of the second with an unassisted goal.Driving down the right side on a 2-on-1, Fiala snapped a wrist shot low to Lundqvist’s far side.Bonino’s second power-play goal of the game gave Nashville its first lead at 10:35 of the second after converting a rebound of his own shot at 10:35.NOTES: Nashville C Kyle Turris missed the game with a lower-body injury. …The Predators sold out all 51 home games they played at Bridgestone Arena in calendar year 2018. … Rangers RW Kevin Hayes picked up one assist, extending his career-long point scoring streak to nine games. … New York is 9-6-6 when scoring first this season.UP NEXT:Rangers: Visit St. Louis Blues on Monday.Predators: Visit Washington Capitals on Monday.