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The Minnesota Wild are battling for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, where one injury or lengthy losing streak could make it impossible to recover from.

The Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks are struggling partly because they had to move key pieces like Brandon Saad, Johnny Oduya and Patrick Sharp during the off-season, but also because of the loss of Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith to a knee injury.

Minnesota now has to deal with a similar loss, as leading scorer Zach Parise is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

The Wild were very cryptic regarding the extent of the injury, saying that it will keep the 31-year-old team captain out week-to-week, but not month-to-month. For a Minnesota club that has traditionally had trouble scoring goals (currently 12th in the NHL with 37), the loss of Parise for an extended period could irreparably harm their post-season aspirations.

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