The loss Tuesday nearly came at a much steeper cost for the Wild, who dodged a major bullet after the first period when Jason Zucker was slashed across the wrist by Colorado's Blake Comeau.
Zucker eventually skated off on his own but missed the final 12 minutes of action in the first period. As it turned out, Zucker was placed in the League's concussion protocol following the spill he took after the slash.
Nothing came of the X-ray on the wrist, or the trip to the dark room, as Zucker returned to the contest at the beginning of the second period.
Minnesota wasn't as lucky in the third.
Midway through the period, Spurgeon went to the corner to Devan Dubnyk's right to retrieve a loose puck. He lost an edge and spilled awkwardly into the dasher, feet first, the momentum of which made him nearly do the splits.
Spurgeon remained on the ice and needed assistance getting off and down the tunnel to the dressing room.
The replay of the injury, shown on the video scoreboard moments later, drew a loud groan from the 19,000-plus in attendance.
"That was gross. Yeah, I saw that happen. I hoped he was going to get up right away. He kind of turned around and looked like he was going to get up," Dubnyk said. "He was really flexible, but that was not nice. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he's alright or at least minor, but it looked like it hurt."
Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said the injury was not to his knee or ankle, which can only be good news, as the awkward nature of the crash made it appear it could be one or both.
Boudreau simply said it's a lower-body injury and that the team will know more tomorrow, a scheduled off day for the club before it flies to Vegas for its first-ever road game against the Golden Knights.
