Though Mikko Koivu has returned to practice, just 17 days after separating his left shoulder, it could still be some time before he's back in the lineup. Koivu has already been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Colorado Avalanche, but he's ahead of the four-week recovery window that was previously discussed. Now, head coach Mike Yeo has said that he's not expecting Koivu to against the Dallas Stars on Saturday, Minnesota's next game after Colorado, according to Michael Russo on Twitter.
There is currently no target date for Koivu to return, but he is traveling with the team on their current three-game road trip, so that at least means that there is a possibility of him being in the lineup against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Koivu returned to practice on Tuesday, participating in the morning skate, and spending time working with Kirk Olson, the team's strength and conditioning coach. Koivu fired a lot of pucks at the net, and looked good with his stick-handling. He is clearly ahead of schedule at this point.
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