The Minnesota Wild catch a massive break with positive feedback on Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek, both inching toward a return that could salvage their playoff push. These two have been sidelined for weeks with lower-body issues, leaving the roster thinner than Bill Guerin's worst nightmare, but coaches see them suiting up soon against a desperate Sharks squad.

Matt Boldy just torched the league with six points in two games, earning him the NHL's First Star honors and extending the Wild's winning streak. The 24-year-old winger lit up Montreal with a pair of assists on Kirill Kaprizov's overtime magic, then unleashed the fastest hat trick in franchise history against Nashville before setting up Jared Spurgeon's winner.

Russia drops a mock roster for the 2026 Olympics that packs Ovechkin, Kucherov, Kaprizov and Panarin on the wings for what could be the Great 8's last international run at age 40. Goalie choices torment the selectors with three Vezina winners in Bobrovsky, Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy plus Sorokin's hot streak anchoring the Isles' playoff push. But Russia's ban leaves these NHL stars on the sidelines, turning gold-medal dreams into painful hypotheticals that sting front offices from D.C. to Tampa.

Artemi Panarin lets slip what every locker room whispers about the IOC's iron-fisted ban on Russia for the 2026 Olympics - most guys would kill to lace up against those elite Russian snipers they've battled in NHL rinks for years. With stars like Kucherov, Kaprizov, and Ovechkin sidelined from team events, the tournament loses that classic edge that defined past Games.

Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and the newly acquired Quinn Hughes form a dynamic core that propels the Minnesota Wild into contention for the NHL's upper echelon. Their combined firepower has turned heads in front offices from St. Paul to Sunrise, with Kaprizov's power-play dominance and Hughes' playmaking elevating an already stout lineup. As the Wild eye a deep playoff run, this trio raises the stakes in a brutal Central Division where every point counts toward hoisting the Cup.

Russia's ongoing Olympic ban over Ukraine sanctions slams the door on some of the NHL's premier talents, like Kucherov, Panarin, Ovechkin, and Kaprizov, from suiting up in Milan Cortina. These guys form a dream lineup that could dominate the ice with elite scoring punch and the league's top goaltending depth from Sorokin, Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin, and Bobrovsky.