Good Friday afternoon to you all. Downtown St. Paul near the X is still a zoo with the Sportsmen’s Show going on. I took a side exit out from the arena today and ran right into some guy showing his taxidermy creations. For a dollar you could go behind his little exhibit and see some more, uh, in-depth demonstrations. I passed.

Just got an e-mail from the Wild saying Craig Weller has a head injury and the team will monitor any symptoms the next few days. He is out through at least the weekend.

Weller, obviously, did not skate today. I did see him near the Wild bench prior to practice and at least he was upright. Last night - man, he sure looked dazed after that fight.

Antti Miettinen, Owen Nolan and Niklas Backstrom were also absent from today’s practice. And Brent Burns was quick to leave. Nothing more than rest for these players, Jacques Lemaire told us after. Miettinen this morning was asked if he was tired. He said he was a little, so he didn’t skate. Simple as that.

Best part of practice today was Nick Schultz. Not for anything spectacular he did, but because he had the equipment staff make up a faux flag for him. It was taped to his helmet so, “the forwards would see me coming in on the drill.”

Hockey players I tell ya. A different breed.

Hope everyone’s set for Hockey Day Minnesota tomorrow. Lordy, can you imagine if those outdoor games were scheduled for yesterday or today? No thanks. Tomorrow, though, should be OK.

I’m headed down to the LaCrosse, Wis., area tonight to take in some Bantam-level hockey (my father-in-law is a coach in a tournament there). But I’ll be back for Wild/Ducks tomorrow night. Remember, it’s an 8 p.m. start. Russo’s on for all the action.

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