Jordan Greenway was activated from injured reserve and is expected to make his season debut for the Wild against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; SNP, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Greenway had shoulder surgery this offseason for an injury he suffered Feb. 22 and reinjured it shortly before the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when Minnesota lost to the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference First Round.
"He does a lot of things physically for us, that line does a lot for our team, but emotionally he'll be a spark," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "He was [Wednesday] when he knew he was playing and he's taking the normal reps and line rushes, there was an energy level."
Greenway, who had 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 62 games last season, will be on the right wing with Joel Eriksson Ek at center and Marcus Foligno at left wing. Last season, the three formed what was considered the Wild's shutdown line.
"It's going to be great," Greenway said. "It's very exciting. It's been a long summer for me, and watching from the stands gets very old, so it'll be great to get back out there for them and get back on track.
"Knowing that there's not really much you can do from the stands outside of being a support factor, but after a while, there's more that you want to do and the opportunity has presented itself here tonight, and I'm ready to go get it." -- Jessi Pierce