Brodin, Eriksson Ek reflect on missing Wild’s second-round series: ‘It was hard’

Two of the Minnesota Wild‘s most important players were injured as the team lost in five games to the Colorado Avalanche.

“Lot of emotions, watching,” Eriksson Ek, the Wild’s No. 1 centre, said Friday. “I mean, everyone says, it’s a lot worse to sit on the side and watch than playing the games. Yeah, it was hard.”

Eriksson Ek revealed that he had a broken bone in his heel after falling and sliding into the boards during Game 6 of the first round against the Dallas Stars. He didn’t play another game and said he’ll need a few more weeks to recover.

“You want to play,” Eriksson Ek said. “Just I couldn’t do it. It was too painful to skate.”

Brodin, meanwhile, suffered a broken bone in his foot while blocking a shot in Game 5 against the Stars and had surgery. It capped a frustrating year after he missed the Olympics for Sweden with a lower-body injury.

“It’s awful to not play in the playoffs. Best time of the year. Not be out there, try to help the team win,” he said Friday. “So it’s really frustrating year for me with that stuff. Yeah, not a good ending.”

Brodin said he was aiming to return during the Western Conference Final.