Wild's Nico Sturm hospitalized after taking puck to the head

Grand Casino Arena fell silent as Sturm fell to the ice and was evaluated, with many thinking of defenseman Brock Faber who suffered a skull fracture from getting hit in the ear by a shot in a September 25 preseason game.

"The rink was dead silent when that went on," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "Good news is he's getting checked out. It's upper body."

Hynes didn't provide an update on Sturm after the game, but said he didn't think Sturm would travel with the team to Winnipeg for Tuesday's game against the Jets.

"Anything as a coach, parent, or someone where you're overseeing people and things like that, you want to try and make sure they make the right decisions to try and give themselves every opportunity so they don't get hurt," Hynes said after being asked if he'd like to see more players wear ear guards. "Ultimately it comes down to the players' decision."

Sturm's teammates also shared their concerns for Sturm during the postgame.

“All I thought of was Brock, honestly,” forward Michael McCarron said. “Holding his ear, same spot kind of. I felt horrible. Us as a fourth line, we like to get to the net, and pucks are flying by us all the time. It’s kind of a dangerous area to go. That’s why not a lot of people love to go to the net. It’s scary around there, and I’m just praying for the best for him."

McCarron said he hadn't thought of wearing ear guards in the wake of Faber's injury.

“I cut my ear a long time ago, and I had to wear an ear guard for quite a while and I hated it," he said. "That’s going back 10 years maybe. But I don’t know. Maybe another rule’s going to come to play here in the NHL. But, yeah, it’s scary.”

With Monday's win, the Wild improved to 4-1-1.

Tuesday's game against the Jets gets underway at 7:15 p.m. The Wild will be off Wednesday before returning to St. Paul to host St. Louis on Thursday and Columbus on Sunday.