The Wild were 21-10-4 before his prolonged time on the shelf and 3-1-0 upon his return in April. Matt Boldy stepped up in his teammate's absence and ended up leading the team in goals (27), assists (46) and points (73), but it's a much better team with both of them rather than one.

Which eight teams will advance to the second round of the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs? USA TODAY weighs in with first-round predictions.

There may be an upset or two early, but the usual suspects in the Eastern Conference are the most likely to make a run in the NHL playoffs.