It is possible that the WIld simply do not want Koivu playing in a back-to-back situation after missing nearly two months. Monitor his status prior to Friday's clash with the Canucks.

Koivu has been sidelined since January 4, but has progressed well towards a possible return on Thursday. Wild head coach Mike Yeo said they will not know whether or not Koivu will play until following Thursday's morning skate.

Monday was the first time Koivu participated in all of the team's practice drills since his ankle surgery on Jan. 6; he said the hour-long skate was the longest he's been on the ice since the surgery. Koivu again declined to provide a timeline for his injury, but he said his ankle has improved each day since the Olympic break began. "We've made some progress," coach Mike Yeo said of Koivu. "The goal when I talked to him was let's just keep pushing it and doing what we can in practice and see how far we can come in the next couple of days."

Immonen, 30, was a Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick (8th Round / 254th overall) in 2002. He last played in the NHL in 2006-07, he only registered eight points (3G / 5A) in 20 career NHL games. He is currently in his fifth season in the KHL but his first with Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo. In 50 games this season he has 13 goals and 23 assists (36 points).

The Wild captain, who was expected to captain Finland underwent surgery on a broken ankle Jan. 6 after being hit by a dump-in off the stick of Washington's Nicklas Backstrom two days before. The normal course of recovery for this type of injury is six to eight weeks. Koivu underwent surgery in an attempt to accelerate his return to the Wild lineup. Monday will be five weeks from surgery. Team Finland also lost Valteri Filppula today, so they will announce two replacements shortly.

Mikael Backlund- Calgary, C (Owned in 12.5% of ESPN leagues) With four straight two-point efforts (5G/2A), including the overtime game-winner on Saturday night, Backlund is smoking hot for the Flames. Injuries have held him back, but the 24-year old is showing true signs of a breakout season in Year 5. The Olympic break might be coming at the wrong time for Backlund, but expect him to take another step forward as he firmly entrenches himself as Calgary's no.1 center for the near future. Scoop him up. Gustav Nyquist- Detroit , RW (Owned in 60.9% of ESPN league) Coming off his first career hat trick and 2 power-play goals against Washington, the window of opportunity to pick up the streaking Nyquist is quickly slamming shut. The ultra-talented winger has benefited from the myriad of injuries to Detroit's top forwards, posting 8 points in the last five games and 22 in 30 games overall. Mikael Granlund-Minnesota, C (Owned in 26.2% of ESPN leagues) Clicking on a line with Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, the shifty center has been playing well of late with 8 points(2G/6A) in the last 5 games. While he has been plagued by inconsistencies early on in his NHL career, the injury to top center Mikko Koivu has given the 21-year old the opportunity to showcase his skills. He is well worth a waiver-wire addition while he is hot. Travis Zajac- New Jersey, C Owned in 39.9 % of ESPN leagues) The Patrick Elias-Jaromir Jagr-Travis Zajac line has been the primary scoring trio for Jersey in recent weeks, giving the underachieving center a huge fantasy boost moving forward. With 6 points in the last 5 games, Zajac is setting himself up for a nice second half. A great "buy low" option who is readily available in most leagues, the former 60-point producer warrants plenty of fantasy consideration. Dmitry Kulikov-Florida, D (owned in 23.1% of ESPN leagues) It feels like we been waiting forever for the talented Russian defenseman to break out, but he has quietly turned on the offense lately with 4 goals in the last 7 games. Massive upside for this Florida Panther, so maybe take a flier on the 23-year old. A 40+ point season should be in the cards soon.

Mikael Backlund- Calgary, C (Owned in 12.5% of ESPN leagues) With four straight two-point efforts (5G/2A), including the overtime game-winner on Saturday night, Backlund is smoking hot for the Flames. Injuries have held him back, but the 24-year old is showing true signs of a breakout season in Year 5. The Olympic break might be coming at the wrong time for Backlund, but expect him to take another step forward as he firmly entrenches himself as Calgary's no.1 center for the near future. Scoop him up. Gustav Nyquist- Detroit , RW (Owned in 60.9% of ESPN league) Coming off his first career hat trick and 2 power-play goals against Washington, the window of opportunity to pick up the streaking Nyquist is quickly slamming shut. The ultra-talented winger has benefited from the myriad of injuries to Detroit's top forwards, posting 8 points in the last five games and 22 in 30 games overall. Mikael Granlund-Minnesota, C (Owned in 26.2% of ESPN leagues) Clicking on a line with Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, the shifty center has been playing well of late with 8 points(2G/6A) in the last 5 games. While he has been plagued by inconsistencies early on in his NHL career, the injury to top center Mikko Koivu has given the 21-year old the opportunity to showcase his skills. He is well worth a waiver-wire addition while he is hot. Travis Zajac- New Jersey, C Owned in 39.9 % of ESPN leagues) The Patrick Elias-Jaromir Jagr-Travis Zajac line has been the primary scoring trio for Jersey in recent weeks, giving the underachieving center a huge fantasy boost moving forward. With 6 points in the last 5 games, Zajac is setting himself up for a nice second half. A great "buy low" option who is readily available in most leagues, the former 60-point producer warrants plenty of fantasy consideration. Dmitry Kulikov-Florida, D (owned in 23.1% of ESPN leagues) It feels like we been waiting forever for the talented Russian defenseman to break out, but he has quietly turned on the offense lately with 4 goals in the last 7 games. Massive upside for this Florida Panther, so maybe take a flier on the 23-year old. A 40+ point season should be in the cards soon.

Minnesota's star winger Zach Parise was instrumental to the Wild's 4-2 upset road victory of Anaheim with a goal and two assists, his first points since returning from injury 3 games ago. With only 4 points in his 10 contests prior to injury, the usually consistent Parise has been hurting fantasy owners with sub-par offensive production, certainly not reminiscent of his 80+ point scoring days with New Jersey. The Wild's offense has been hampered by key injuries throughout the season, but with Mikko Koivu also expected back soon, you could expect a significant scoring upgrade after the Oympic break. With only 30 points in 40 games, Parise is looking like a solid "buy low" option if you can get him on the moderate cheap. Another guy I am "wild" about is goalie Darcy Kuemper, who has been stellar in relief of Josh Harding with a 6-3-1 record, a 2.26 GAA, and a .924 SP. He stymied the Ducks to a tune of 31 saves on 33 shots. Harding has shown to have his share of medical issues, so maybe getting your hands on Kuemper would be a shrewd investment. More Fantasy Game Notes: The biggest news of the nights revolves around the potential blow to Shea Weber owners, as the elite defenseman left the Nashville-Winnipeg contest with a back injury and did not return. No word on the severity of the injury yet, but we will keep you posted. Weber is well on his way to his second career 50+ point season with 36 points (13G/23A) in 52 games.. Two more goals from Chicago's Marian Hossa, who has arguably been the most consistent fantasy forward in the "Windy City". The Slovakian winger hasn't gone more than two games without scoring a point since November 21st. Not bad for someone who many had touted as well past his prime at the age of 35.. Another point-explosion from Alex Ovechkin, who saved the Capitals in Buffalo with two goals, including the overtime game winner and 2 assists. Not much to say here, other than sit your Washington players when "Ovie" is out of the lineup.. Huge effort from Carey Price, as Montreal's goalie slowed down a streaking Carolina club with a 36-save shutout effort. The Canadien Olympian had lost four straight and allowed more than 4 goals in the last five, so his fantasy owners can breathe a sigh of relief for now.. Steve Mason snapped a three-game skid with a 33-save shutout in the 5-0 Fler's win over Detroit. Huge letdown for Mason since signing a lucrative extension, but how many of us have our doubts whether he had proved enough to warrant ...

Minnesota's star winger Zach Parise was instrumental to the Wild's 4-2 upset road victory of Anaheim with a goal and two assists, his first points since returning from injury 3 games ago. With only 4 points in his 10 contests prior to injury, the usually consistent Parise has been hurting fantasy owners with sub-par offensive production, certainly not reminiscent of his 80+ point scoring days with New Jersey. The Wild's offense has been hampered by key injuries throughout the season, but with Mikko Koivu also expected back soon, you could expect a significant scoring upgrade after the Oympic break. With only 30 points in 40 games, Parise is looking like a solid "buy low" option if you can get him on the moderate cheap. Another guy I am "wild" about is goalie Darcy Kuemper, who has been stellar in relief of Josh Harding with a 6-3-1 record, a 2.26 GAA, and a .924 SP. He stymied the Ducks to a tune of 31 saves on 33 shots. Harding has shown to have his share of medical issues, so maybe getting your hands on Kuemper would be a shrewd investment. More Fantasy Game Notes: The biggest news of the nights revolves around the potential blow to Shea Weber owners, as the elite defenseman left the Nashville-Winnipeg contest with a back injury and did not return. No word on the severity of the injury yet, but we will keep you posted. Weber is well on his way to his second career 50+ point season with 36 points (13G/23A) in 52 games.. Two more goals from Chicago's Marian Hossa, who has arguably been the most consistent fantasy forward in the "Windy City". The Slovakian winger hasn't gone more than two games without scoring a point since November 21st. Not bad for someone who many had touted as well past his prime at the age of 35.. Another point-explosion from Alex Ovechkin, who saved the Capitals in Buffalo with two goals, including the overtime game winner and 2 assists. Not much to say here, other than sit your Washington players when "Ovie" is out of the lineup.. Huge effort from Carey Price, as Montreal's goalie slowed down a streaking Carolina club with a 36-save shutout effort. The Canadien Olympian had lost four straight and allowed more than 4 goals in the last five, so his fantasy owners can breathe a sigh of relief for now.. Steve Mason snapped a three-game skid with a 33-save shutout in the 5-0 Fler's win over Detroit. Huge letdown for Mason since signing a lucrative extension, but how many of us have our doubts whether he had proved enough to warrant ...

Being an avid participant in fantasy hockey for over 20 years, I should know better when it comes to picking up "hot" forwards on balanced, scoring teams like the one in St. Louis. Ken Hitchcock continues rolling out four lines, and the one clicking the best on that given night will get the most quality ice-time. The "hot" line could last a few games, even weeks, but once another set of forwards are starting to surge, they now become the centerpiece of the offense. It's been a trademark of Hitchcock's teams, so why should things change now? The "flavor" of the moment seems to be the Vladimir Sobotka line flanked by Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Berglund. Both Tarasenko and Sobotka collected a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win over Calgary, raising their respective multi-point streaks to three games. The dilemma for most fantasy owners remains the same: When is it a good time to pick up a streaking St. Louis forward? I picked up RW Chris Stewart in the midst of his December streak, where he scored 8 goals and 3 assists in 7 games. The hope was that he could replicate his awesome 25-game stretch late last season when he was among the elite scorers in the NHL. Well, he went cold in the hurry, so I went against my instincts and scooped up Jaden Schwartz for him. A budding star with promising potential, he was sizzling around Christmas time. Now he has gone scoreless in his last 2 contests, with his minutes dropped to 14:33 and given minimal power-play time. Of course, Tarasenko is looking real good just about now, as the talented Russian is oozing with offensive upside. There is a slight chance that by the time I finish this article, he will be on my team. But, there is a reason why all these talented St. Louis forwards are readily available on the waiver wire. Due to the way they are used in Hitchcock's system, there is no fantasy staying power and the chances that any of them can contribute for you on a consistent basis for an entire season are slim to none. It seemed that prior to his injury that Alex Steen was bucking that trend with an exceptional first half, but we will never know if he could have kept it up. Anyway, that's my "two cents" on the St. Louis situation. Fantasy Game Notes: Anton Khudobin wins his fourth straight start for Carolina since returning from injury, stopping 25 of 26 shots in the 5-1 win over Toronto. With Cam Ward on the shelf, the 27-year old Russian is "hot stuff" right now and should be owned in all fantasy leagues. Given ...