Wild miss Eriksson Ek, Brodin for first 2 games vs Avs; Manson out

DENVER (AP) The Minnesota Wild will enter their Western Conference second-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche without forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin for the first two games due to lower-body injuries, while the Avalanche will miss defenseman Josh Manson because of an upper-body injury.

Neither Eriksson Ek nor Brodin traveled with the Wild to Denver for Game 1 on Sunday night. Wild coach John Hynes said the team was finalizing lineup decisions ahead of the opener. "Ekkys a big part of the team," Hynes said. "When you lose a guy that plays that many situations, you have to do it collectively as a group, and its not all on one guy."

Eriksson Ek contributed three goals and two assists during Minnesota's first-round series victory over the Dallas Stars, where he posted a 56.4 percent faceoff win rate. Brodin sat out Game 6 of that series. Hynes noted a break between Games 2 and 3, with the Wild playing Tuesday before not facing the Avalanche again until Saturday, would allow for reevaluation of both players' status.

Possible replacements for Eriksson Ek include Danila Yurov and Hunter Haight. Brodin's absence leaves a gap on the blue line, as he...