Kunin aims to fill void left behind by Koivu

ST. PAUL -- Nine months after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee, Wild forward Luke Kunin will return to the scene of the incident on Tuesday when Minnesota hosts the Montreal Canadiens at Xcel Energy Center.
Recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Sunday, Kunin will try and help fill the void left behind by Mikko Koivu, who will miss the next stretch of days with a lower-body injury.
Koivu is officially listed as day-to-day.

Whether Kunin sticks around longer than that could depend on how well he plays in his return to the NHL after a 21-game stint to start the season with Minnesota's AHL affiliate.
If his last handful of games in Iowa is any indication, Kunin comes to Minnesota brimming with confidence. He had perhaps his best game of the season on Saturday against Grand Rapids, scoring once and assisting on two other goals.
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Over his past four games, Kunin has three goals and three assists and is a plus-5. He also has 11 shots on goal.
"I feel great," Kunin said. "I really like where my game is at. Things have been falling into place nicely. I had to get my game where we needed it and the last five games, I think I've found my game and I'm really happy with it."
Kunin was one of the final players cut from the NHL team during training camp, but the plan all along was to take plenty of time with the 21-year-old former Wisconsin Badger coming off the injury.
With a veteran team in the NHL, the Wild had the luxury of stashing Kunin in Iowa to get his game on track and to knock off some of the rust.
After a fast start to the season; Kunin scored seven points in the first five games of the year, the offense didn't come as easy.
In 12 games during the month of November, Kunin had just two points -- both goals -- even with Iowa playing well.

But that's not indicative of how Kunin was playing especially later in the month. Coaches there have noticed his speed and his burst start to return, and with the production in recent games, so has the confidence.
"Just keeping the pace of play up and be patient with everything and I think I've been doing that," Kunin said. "The whole process was hard, to be patient with everything. But it's good to be on the other side of it now."
In practice on Monday at TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau had Kunin playing with youngsters Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek on the third line.
And for good reason.
"We thought he'd fit well with the young kids and there would be a lot of energy," Boudreau said. "I found when I played, if I played with guys who were either called up or guys that were my age, I didn't feel intimidated by having to get guys pucks. It makes it a simpler transition for him."

In terms of the game he brings, Kunin has the potential to fit right in. Greenway and Eriksson Ek have both been solid of late, playing a hard game in both ends and bringing plenty of energy.
That's Kunin's game as well, although he has the ability to produce offense in bunches.
Kunin scored 41 goals in two seasons at the University of Wisconsin and is on pace to surpass his 10 goals in 36 games with Iowa a year ago.
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