The Wild Lose Brock Faber to a Fractured Skull Days Before Opening Night

Brock Faber finished his shift. Then he took his next one. Only in the third period of Friday's preseason game against Dallas did the Wild send him to the hospital, and on Sunday he had surgery to repair a fractured skull.

Minnesota announced the operation Tuesday and put the 24-year-old defenseman on injured reserve, backdated to the injury. A deflected puck hit him in the head. The team gave no timetable for his return.

It's a heavy loss for a team that expects a lot this season. Faber was set to anchor the top pair next to Quinn Hughes, and he's coming off the best year of his career: 15 goals and 52 points in 80 games, then a playoff run in which he averaged 30:44 of ice time over 11 games. Minnesota beat Dallas in the first round before Colorado knocked it out. He also won Olympic gold with the U.S. in February.

Captain Jared Spurgeon is expected to take Faber's spot beside Hughes.

The timing adds to the pressure in St. Paul, where Hughes' long-term future is already the main topic of conversation. The Wild open Thursday in Nashville, with puck drop at 8 p.m. ET.