The Minnesota Wild have been on a tear as of late, winning each of their last four games to improve to 26-11-4. But in the quest to make it five consecutive, the squad will have to beat a surging Colorado Avalanche team without arguably the two most important defensemen on the roster.

Both Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin — the Wild's top defense pair — will be unavailable for Thursday's divisional tilt, head coach John Hynes confirmed to The Athletic's Michael Russo.

Brodin is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, said Hynes, while no update was provided on Faber, who left in the first period of Tuesday's 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues with an upper-body ailment.

Along with the two key D-men, Minnesota remains without superstar Kirill Kaprizov, along with captain Jared Spurgeon. But Jake Middleton returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing 11 games, and he should play a crucial role on the blue line in the absences of Faber, Brodin and Spurgeon.

Thursday night will likely see Middleton play with Zach Bogosian on the top pair, with Jon Merrill, Declan Chisholm, Travis Dermott and David Jiricek rounding out the defensive unit.

Jiricek was recalled from the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild on Wednesday; the Columbus Blue Jackets' No. 6 overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft was shipped to the State of Hockey in November. He should make his Minnesota debut against Colorado.

The Wild are riddled with injuries, and Russo summed up the situation well on Thursday:

But despite the plethora of injuries, the team continues to surge in 2025.

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Wild looking to keep win streak alive vs. Avalanche

The Minnesota Wild celebrate defeating the St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center.
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Even with multiple key pieces out of the lineup, the Wild have won four consecutive games and six of their last seven dating back to December 23.

With that, Hynes' team is just two points back of the Winnipeg Jets for top spot in the Central Division, and only three behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the President's Trophy race. The Wild have never finished the NHL regular-season with the most points.

It's extremely encouraging for fans of the franchise, as the team is nowhere near full strength but managing to find ways to win games in 2024-25. Still without a loss in January, Minnesota will look to keep the good times rolling against an Avalanche team that has won seven of nine, but is coming off a 3-1 loss to the last place Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

Filip Gustavsson will get the nod between the pipes after being pulled against the Blues on Tuesday; he allowed four goals on 18 shots before Marc-Andre Fleury took over in the crease. The Avs will counter with Mackenzie Blackwood in the second half of their back-to-back set.

Puck drops between the bitter Central Division rivals just past 8:00 p.m. from the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.