Brodin out for Wild against Stars in Game 6 of Western 1st Round

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Defenseman Jonas Brodin is day to day and will not play for the Minnesota Wild against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at Grand Casino Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, truTV, TNT, SNE, SN360, TVAS) because of a lower-body injury.

Minnesota, which leads the best-of-7 series 3-2, is one victory from advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Brodin, a regular on the Wild's second defense pair with Jared Spurgeon, was injured early in the second period of Minnesota's 4-2 win in Game 5 on Tuesday after blocking a shot by Stars forward Mikko Rantanen. He left the game at 1:44 of the second period and did not return.

Brodin has one assist and is averaging 19:41 of ice time per game in the series.

"It's really for today," Wild coach John Hynes said Thursday. "It's one of the things that guys get evaluated and it's kind of a little bit of a moving target, so that's why today he'll be out, but I would classify him as day to day because as the day goes on, tomorrow, there could be an improvement or it could be the same."

Jeff Petry will replace Brodin and play on Minnesota's third defense pair with Zach Bogosian. Jake Middleton will move up to take Brodin's spot on the second pair with Spurgeon.

Petry, a healthy scratch for the first five games of the series, played nine regular season games after Minnesota acquired him in a trade with the Florida Panthers on March 5. He has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 48 career NHL postseason games, but this will be his first since July 7, 2021.

"It's an opportunity for me to step in and make an impact," Petry said. "Just make sure that everything is off a strong defensive game and building that from there. It's an exciting opportunity. I know 'Brods' is a big part and no one wants to see him go down. It's bittersweet for that circumstance."

Forward Nico Sturm will return for the Wild, replacing Bobby Brink, who had one assist in four games after being scratched for Game 1. He will center Minnesota's fourth line between Nick Foligno and Marcus Foligno.

Sturm played in Games 3 and 4 in place of Yakov Trenin, who missed time with an upper-body injury. Sturm was a healthy scratch for Game 5, when Trenin returned, but Hynes said he liked how Sturm played in limited minutes (20:20 total ice time). He had one assist.

"I think I put myself in a good spot, but I understand that the coaches have to make decisions that go beyond just one player," Sturm said. "That's also one thing I've learned in other runs is sometimes you have to put your pride away when you're playing a depth role. It (stinks) sometimes. Of course it does. You want to be in the lineup every night and make an impact, but it just comes with the role and I found embracing that rather than fighting it at this point in the year usually helps me from a headspace perspective."

Stars center Arttu Hyry will not play because of a lower-body injury sustained in Game 5.

Michael Bunting will replace Hyry and make his series debut.

Bunting had a goal and an assist in 13 regular-season games with the Stars after being acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on March 5. He had 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 61 games with Nashville prior to the trade.

Hyry played in the past four games after he was scratched for Game 1. He averaged 13:15 of ice time per game, including 1:07 on the penalty kill, which went 16-for-18 with him in the lineup.

In addition, Dallas defenseman Alexander Petrovic will make his series debut, replacing Tyler Myers, who will be a healthy scratch after playing in the first five games.