WASHINGTON — The Minnesota Wild blue line corps that started their final game of 2024 will look notably different for their first game of 2025. And for a team whose wins have come despite a bewildering spate of injuries, that is decidedly not a good thing, as familiar as it is for Wild fans. Captain Jared Spurgeon did not travel to the nation’s capital on New Year’s Day, after the veteran defenseman suffered what appeared to be a serious right leg injury in the second period of Minnesota’s 5-3 win over Nashville on Dec. 31. He left the arena on crutches and will have a magnetic resonance imaging test on Thursday in the Twin Cities. “He leads by example on the ice with his play. He’s very vocal on the bench and in the room. Anytime our team is, you know, veering off of the game plan, he’s right there to call us out, and always in a positive way,” said Wild defenseman Declan Chisholm, whose second goal of the season versus Nashville was the game-winner. “Definitely going to be missed. Hopefully he bounces back soon. And you know, some guys (have) got to step up.” The healthy portion of the team will play a road game versus the Washington Capitals on Thursday, then travel to visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday before their next home game on Jan. 7 versus St. Louis. Spurgeon, 35, was limited to just 16 games last season due to a variety of injuries and had season-ending surgery in January 2024. He missed a handful of games in October of this season but has been in the lineup every night for the past few months. Chasing a puck to the left of Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, Spurgeon was tripped from behind into the end boards by Predators rookie Zach L’Heureux. The Wild defenseman went legs-first into the wall and landed awkwardly. He required assistance to get off the ice. L’Heureux received a five-minute major penalty and was ejected from the game. The NHL announced on Wednesday that the Predators’ winger will have a phone interview with the league’s Department of Player Safety, often the precursor to supplemental discipline. The 21-year-old from Montreal has been suspended nearly a dozen times during his major junior and minor league hockey career for a variety of plays deemed dirty and dangerous. Wild coach John Hynes called it a “cheap hit” after Tuesday’s game. “I’m sure the league’s going to take a look at it,” he said. “But we’ll see with Spurgy. I don’t know where he’s at. Obviously, it didn’t look good with the style of play that he was subject to. So we’ll see where it’s at.” With the Wild already missing mainstay defenseman Jake Middleton for the past nine games with an upper body injury suffered early in a home loss to Edmonton on Dec. 12, the team is already notably thin on the blue line. While no moves were announced before the team’s flight to the East Coast, they will likely recall a defenseman from their Iowa AHL team. The Wild have played without star forward Kirill Kaprizov since Christmas as he deals with a lower body ailment, and have seen top-liners Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello each miss 13 games this season due to injury. Kaprizov was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, and the WIld called up forward Brendan Gaunce and defenseman Carson Lambos from Iowa. Yakov Trenin #13 of the Minnesota Wild hits Zachary L’Heureux #68 of the Nashville Predators after L’Heureux slammed Jared Spurgeon #46 of the Wild into the boards in the second period at Xcel Energy Center on Dec. 15, 2024 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images) Jared Spurgeon of the Minnesota Wild shoots against the Seattle Kraken during the third period at Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 10, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) Related Articles Minnesota Wild | Bittersweet win as Wild captain injured in victory over Nashville Minnesota Wild | Wild aiming to avoid turnovers when foes muddle the middle Minnesota Wild | Early lead, and winning streak, slip away from Wild in loss to Ottawa Minnesota Wild | Two-thirds of Wild top line back together with Eriksson Ek’s return Minnesota Wild | Faceoff wins fuel Wild’s penalty-kill success