Koivu a critical cog for Wild

Wild captain Mikko Koivu describes the difficulties he's had since returning from a long injury layoff.

The Star Tribune points out that few players on the Wild are as scrutinized as Koivu, with critics continually picking his game apart.

“That’s unfair,” coach Mike Yeo said. “They don’t see all the little things he does night in and night out to give you a chance to win. That’s what you ask for in a leader. This is a guy that’s never going to cheat, he’s always going to do it the right way to give his team the best chance to win.

“Winning is his priority. He wants to bring a championship to Minnesota, and that’s how he plays the game.”

Zach Parise offered this: “People have their opinions on different people. All I’ll tell you is he’s so important. We need him playing well and to be a great player for us to be a good team, and he’s played really well as of late.

“It’s hard coming back from an injury. It’s tough because of where everyone else is at in their season — 65, 70 games. You miss two months like Mikko, you’re way behind. Everyone is fresh and flying, so it’s tough to get back into a rhythm. But he’s back playing great for us.”

Source: Michael Russo, Star Trubune