New York — Despite his average size and unrelenting willingness to play a net-front game for the Minnesota Wild, center Marco Rossi had not missed a game due to injury for two full seasons entering the 2025-26 campaign. That ironman streak came to a halt after Rossi blocked a shot in the first period of the Wild’s 2-1 overtime loss in Philadelphia on Saturday.
He was not on the ice for the team’s morning skate at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and coach John Hynes confirmed that Rossi was out with a lower-body injury.
“He’s a tough kid. Hopefully it should just be day to day,” Hynes said. “I just think the quick turnarounds and things like that are difficult for him. But I know when a guy like him says, ‘I can’t play,’ then you know there’s something really bothering him.”
Rossi kept playing against the Flyers despite limping to the bench in obvious pain after more than one shift. He turned 24 last month and has a goal and four assists in the Wild’s first six games.
Defenseman Zach Bogosian also missed the morning skate and missed his second consecutive game on Monday, also dealing with a lower-body injury that the Wild consider day to day.
Bright Lights, Big City
Wild backup goalie Jesper Wallstedt came to New York City once as a teenager, but only for a day. So when the team got a day off in Manhattan on Sunday, the native Swede took advantage of the chance to explore America’s largest metro area.
Wallstedt is a fan of YouTube videos showing shrewd traders buying and selling high-end watches, some of them valued at $15,000 or more, in the Diamond District located on 47th Street, not far from Times Square.
Wallstedt’s first stop was there to experience the high-pressure salespeople eager to get your business buying and selling. He spent some time window shopping but was not a buyer.
During Monday’s morning skate at Madison Square Garden, which is billed as the World’s Most Famous Arena, rookie defenseman Zeev Buium was all smiles and admitted playing a road game versus the Rangers for the first time is an exciting career milestone.
“You see all the historic people that have been here and they’ve got pictures of everyone, so it’s pretty cool,” Buium said, thinking of all the famous athletes and performers who have gotten ready for a game or a show in the backstage areas of the arena.
“Our video room for the penalty kill and power plays, and the room where we get changed, those walls have definitely seen some things. It’s a cool building, and to be here, just a really cool setting.”
Before coming to the NHL level, Buium played in a World Juniors gold medal game and an NCAA title game, winning both. He said you are able to block out the noise of the setting and just play hockey, but you are always aware of the magnitude.
“You always kind of know the stakes of the game, and every game matters,” he said. “When you play in big games a lot, I think it just kind of settles your nerves.”
Buium has a goal and four assists in the Wild’s first six games, playing a quarterback role on the team’s first power play.
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/20/wild-center-marco-rossi-sidelined-for-first-time-in-two-years/
