It has been two months since we did a Wild mailbag and several months since we did an ‘Ask Russo and Smith’ mailbag, but with Joe back on the clock, there’s no better time to answer many of your questions.

The Minnesota Wild (30-17-4) are back in action tonight following its 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night. The Wild play the Montreal Canadiens (24-21-5) tonight for a 6:00 p.m. Central Time start.

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Wild star winger Kirill Kaprizov missed Tuesday’s practice and will undergo surgery to address his nagging lower-body injury, according to Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic. Russo and Smith report the surgery,

He ended the game in the top six playing with Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov. The Wild's 2022 19th overall pick was rewarded in a game where he played great in. He now will start the game on Saturday against the Flames in a top-six role.

Andrei Kuzmenko had two goals and an assist, and the Calgary Flames used their power play to beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4.

BOTTOM LINE: Central Division foes meet when the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Minnesota Wild. Chicago is 4-9-2 against the Central Division and 15-28-5 overall. The Blackhawks are 3-7-4 in one-goal games.