Prosser, teammates thrilled he's back with Wild

MENDOTA HEIGHTS -- It's a good thing Nate Prosser didn't have to dig too deep into his closet to find his Minnesota Wild equipment bag.
After spending the past couple of days packing up his family and all their belongings to move from an extended stay hotel in St. Louis to a bigger place downtown, the Prossers learned they'd be on the move again: back home to Minnesota after the Wild claimed the defenseman on waivers on Thursday.
Prosser, who has played all but one of his 283 career NHL games in a Wild uniform, appeared once again in the Forest Green and Iron Range Red on Friday, taking the ice with his new (and old) teammates for practice at St. Thomas Ice Arena.

"It's so good to be back. Just a bunch of good guys here," Prosser said. "You could feel the energy and the excitement. If I can provide a little spark, I love it. Like I said, it's a good group of guys, led by Mikko [Koivu], and I'm excited to be back."
Prosser's presence even got the typically stoic Ryan Suter to crack several smiles on Friday.
"It's like he didn't leave. He walked in this morning and he's the center of attention," Suter said. "Just a great attitude. He shows up to work and he has fun with it and always has a big smile on his face."

It's clear that Prosser remains a favorite inside the Wild's dressing room even though playing time has never been a guarantee for the Elk River native. He played in just one of St. Louis' 24 games this season, and despite an injury to Jared Spurgeon on the Wild's backend, there's no guarantee when he'll play here either.
Wild coach Bruce Boudreau indicated that Ryan Murphy, a plus-2 through two games with Minnesota, has earned a chance to play Saturday against Prosser's former team, the Blues, at Xcel Energy Center.
Whether Prosser fits elsewhere in the lineup remains to be seen, but like he always has, Prosser will prepare like he's playing.
"I've only played once in 24 games so it's a little frustrating and a little stressful at times. Like I've always done, I just wanted to stay positive through it all," Prosser said. "That's kind of been my calling card, being a good teammate, a good positive guy that comes to rink with a smile on his face and brings energy to the team. I just wanted to provide that at practices down there. Just want to be ready to get back to game form and get ready to go tomorrow."
Prosser, and his wife, Brittani, recently sold their home in the Twin Cities, but have purchased another one that should be ready in a few weeks. Combined with the housing drama that's happened in St. Louis, and the on-again, off-again waivers drama of the past week or so, Prosser said his head has been spinning.
"I could go on for days," Prosser said. "My wife has been a solider through it all. She's been great. And for my kids as well, I went and picked them up from school yesterday and was like, 'Oh we're going back to Nordy, we're going back to stay with Grandma and Grandpa.' Just seeing their smiles was priceless. It's a good time. We are all pumped for this."

Spurgeon to miss at least four games

The Wild will be without Spurgeon, arguably its best defenseman, for at least the next four games because of a groin injury.
It's a big loss for a team that has struggled to maintain consistency in its play defensively, but took a step in the right direction in that regard in a 4-2 win against Vegas on Thursday.
"I think he's easily one of the most underrated defensemen, and in my mind, one of the best defensemen," Boudreau said. "But because he doesn't put up 60 points, he just plays the game the way it's supposed to be played, you don't hear about him as much."
With Spurgeon out, expect Matt Dumba to step in and fill his skates on the team's top defensive unit with Suter.
"[Spurgeon] is obviously a pretty darn good defenseman when he's skating well. We'll miss him but we have guys that will step up and fill in for sure," Suter said. "Everybody's played this system now for a few years, so we're pretty familiar with that.
"I told [Dumba], if he gets the puck he should shoot it. Obviously I think last night he had 8 shots, so he listens to some things I say. It'll be very similar. They're both good players and [Dumba] is gonna be just fine."