Wild’s Cooke is ailing
Minnesota left winger Matt Cooke has an injury that has clouded his availability for Game 1 of the Wild’s first-round playoff series, against the Blues. Cooke did not practice Tuesday, because of what Wild coach Mike Yeo would only describe as “discomfort.”
Yeo said Cooke is “definitely a possibility” to play Thursday, when the series is to open, but added that if the team were to decide Cooke wasn’t fully healthy then he wouldn’t play in Game 1.
Cooke was sidelined for two months during the regular season after underdoing hernia surgery, but Yeo said his absence Tuesday was unrelated to that injury.