Marcus Foligno to return to Wild lineup from lower-body injury

Foligno missed the past three games with a lower-body injury. The Wild went 2-1-0 in his absence, beating the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals with a loss to the Boston Bruins in the middle of those wins.

Foligno will return to the lineup playing alongside Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello, replacing Kirill Kaprizov on that top line while the star winger is sidelined with a lower-body injury of his own. It will be the first time this trio has played on a line together this season, as they have less than a minute of ice time together scattered over the course of the year.

Foligno has taken a step back from his career-year offensively last season, with just six goals, 13 assists and 19 points in 53 games. That said, he’s a strong defensive forward as well, so he still has plenty to bring to the Wild every night.

Foligno was a fourth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2009 and spent six seasons with the club before he was dealt to the Wild. He’s in the second year of a three-year deal with a $3.1 million cap hit.

It’s a big boost for a Wild team in hot pursuit of the top spot of the Central Division and the Western Conference. They currently sit in third with a 40-22-8 record, and are a point back of the Dallas Stars for first in the Central and four back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the West.