How Did Eriksson Ek Look In His First Game Back?

On Sunday, Joel Eriksson Ek returned from his third injury this season for the Minnesota Wild’s game against the Ottawa Senators. The Wild center missed 2 games in early October for a broken nose, followed by one game in November for an undisclosed injury. He missed a total of 11 games for this injury, which was a result of a collision during Minnesota’s December 3rd game against the Vancouver Canucks.

During the chippy game, he took an elbow to the face and a crosscheck to the back, which both went uncalled. However, Eriksson Ek's injury resulted from an awkward hit from Vancouver forward Jake DeBrusk after a shot on net. 

During a pregame interview, Eriksson Ek described the collision as an “unlucky break.” If the refs called everything, it would make for a long and frustrating hockey game. However, the refs letting too much slide ends up with dirty hits and injuries. Considering the other uncalled hits in this game, it felt like the refs let the game get out of control. 

Eriksson Ek didn’t elaborate on the injury and concluded the interview by saying that Ottawa would be a challenge, but he was excited to be back on the ice. 

According to the ESPN broadcast, the Wild had a 12-1-1 record against the Senators in their previous 14 match-ups, dating back to the 2016-17 season. Still, Minnesota knew this would not be an easy skate. 

In the pregame interview, Hynes recalled watching Ottawa’s recent game tape and how he “had to have a glass of wine” anticipating the competition. Going into the game, Hynes said that the Senators are “one of the hotter teams in the league” and “would have their hands full tonight.” Despite Hynes’ apprehension about the game, he believed that Eriksson Ek would make an impact after rejoining the team. 

Hynes discussed Eriksson Ek’s strengths, recalling how the Swedish center is “good on the draw.”

Eriksson Ek has the most faceoff wins for Minnesota, with 223 wins and 49.9% in the 2024-25 season, similar to the 49.7% he ended last season with. Marco Rossi follows him with 218 wins and 48.9%. Hynes also mentioned Eriksson Ek’s strength on special teams and remarked on the player’s excellent puck recovery on the powerplay, noting it helps the team keep plays alive.

Still, Eriksson Ek looked rusty in his return to the ice. He only touched the puck a handful of times throughout the entire period. Eriksson Ek is not usually a heavy hitter, only taking the body 40 times this season over 23 games. For context, Minnesota’s top hitter, Marcus Foligno, has 126 hits in 37 games. 

Eriksson Ek’s first period against Ottawa was no different. He shied away from taking the body. Hynes put him out on 4-on-4, but Eriksson Ek and his teammates did not capitalize on the open ice. He did not win many puck battles against the boards and was not a big part of the action.

However,  Eriksson Ek only needed 20 minutes to get his game back. During the second period, he laid out hits, won more puck battles, and was much more a part of the action. 

By the third period, Eriksson Ek was generating great scoring opportunities like this one: 

I love this play because Eriksson Ek dug in to make it happen. Backhand wrap-arounds are not the best scoring opportunity. Still, the center pushed through and regained control despite Leevi Meriläinen knocking it away. While it didn’t end up in a goal, it generated offense and momentum for the Wild. He also made a great play on the penalty kill later in the period and cleared the puck from Minnesota’s defending end into Ottawa’s.

Eriksson Ek’s cautious start to the game makes sense. While he was able to practice the day before with the Wild, game situations are always faster and more intense. Predicting how your body will hold up in certain situations is challenging, and the fear of reinjury looms. Fortunately, it didn’t take the center too long to get back to the player that Minnesota depends on. 

With multiple injuries this season, Eriksson Ek has trouble getting back his momentum. He had 5 goals in his first 8 games but hasn’t scored since. Still, he’s an important player, producing 8 assists and holding down special teams this season. 

While it might take him a couple of games to get back to full strength, hopefully, we will see him put more pucks in the net in the new year.