The seat on the charter aircraft normally occupied by Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov was empty when the rest of the squad took off for Texas. He was unavailable for the Friday evening game versus the Stars with a lower body injury that has been a problem for a few days now, Hynes said.

The team has said that Kaprizov's injury is a day-to-day situation. The Wild will come back to Minnesota to host the Blackhawks on Sunday, so there seems to be a chance he returns after the quick trip to Texas. Kaprizov leads the Wild with 50 points and his 23 goals rank second in the NHL.

Kaprizov, who leads the Wild and is tied for fourth in the NHL with 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists), missed one game earlier this season because of a lower-body injury.