LAS VEGAS >> For all of the attention that individual talent garners in hockey, the fact that statistically a goal and an assist are both worth one point illustrates the value of teamwork among the six players on the ice at any given time.

On Saturday, following their final full practice before the playoffs began Sunday night in Las Vegas, a few members of the Minnesota Wild joked that there was no gold watch given to center Joel Eriksson Ek for helping them get there.

It’s true that without Eriksson Ek’s goal in the final seconds of regulation in their regular-season finale against Anaheim last week, the Wild would have missed the playoffs. But in a game where teamwork trumps all else, even the goal-scorer passed it off as just another shift.

“It looked like that, but it’s an 82-game season … that came down to one or two points,” Eriksson Ek said following the Wild’s practice at City National Arena in the Las Vegas suburbs.

Big player, big plays

Still, for those who have watched Eriksson Ek’s game since the Wild grabbed him 20th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, that final regular-season goal he scored was a vintage example of going to the net-front with his 6-foot-3 frame and not leaving until he saw the red light flash.

For Wild fans, it was a reminder of all that was missing for most of March, when Eriksson Ek and high-scoring winger Kirill Kaprizov worked their way back from injuries that cost them huge chunks of their respective seasons.

When Eriksson Ek goes to the front of the net in the defensive zone, he makes it a challenge for opponents to cause havoc for the Minnesota goalies. And when Eriksson Ek goes to the front of the net in the offensive zone, he is the havoc.

“We have to win battles at the net and most of the goals are scored there,” he said, reaffirming that the net-front game is an emphasis versus the Golden Knights in Round 1. “So, for us, to be real solid in front of our own net and the offensive zone, we really need to be jumping on loose pucks.”

The size and presence in front of the net were certainly factors a decade ago when the previous Wild hockey operations regime grabbed Eriksson Ek from Farjestad in his native Sweden. He made his NHL debut in the 2016-17 season and has rarely worn anything but red and green since. A notable exception came in February, when Eriksson Ek — along with Wild teammates Filip Gustavsson and Jonas Brodin — skated for Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Long road back

Sporting blue and gold and the distinctive three crowns of his homeland, Eriksson Ek had a goal and an assist in the three games he played there.

He played in an overtime win in Detroit upon returning from the tournament, recording an assist, but all was not right with Eriksson Ek’s body, and he was shut down a short time later due to what Hynes called a “usage injury” and missed the next 21 games.

With both Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov out of the lineup, the Wild held their own in March, just barely staying above the cut-off line for the playoffs. In the meantime, the Wild’s two most important offensive players were leaning on each other to find a way back onto the line chart.

“When guys like that go down, it’s hard,” said Wild forward Matt Boldy, who has spent plenty of time on Eriksson Ek’s wing. “He does everything for us — power play, penalty kill, five-on-five, D-zone faceoffs, everything. (He’s) kind of a guy that you know what you’re going to get every night. It’s good, hard, strong hockey, and to have him back is huge. When you play with him, he makes it pretty easy.”

Asked if he picked up any new hobbies during the down time, Erikssson Ek had a smile.

“Nothing really new. … You rehab, you work out, you go back in the afternoon, you watch the games. Just a lot of hockey and a lot of time at the rink,” he said, expressing thanks for having Kaprizov with him in the recovery journey. “I think it was pretty nice for both of us having each other to lean on, just to kind of be in it together there and doing the work together. Doing all the stuff together for sure made it easier.”

The pair returned for a April 9 home game with San Jose, and while nothing came easily defensively, Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov offered a stark reminder of the difference they can make when healthy. Eriksson Ek scored four of the team’s seven regulation goals, while Kaprizov had one in regulation and the overtime winner in a vital 8-7 victory over San Jose.

Shooting and smiling

All of it was done with a smile that sometimes masks the mean streak needed to play a net-front game, which is called one of hockey’s “dirty areas” for a reason. Eriksson Ek is always a nice guy off the ice, but that can be deceiving.

‘I wouldn’t call him that nice,” said Boldy, who played against Eriksson Ek in the 4 Nations tournament. “He’s a special player with the stuff he does, but when you start playing with other guys and they ask about him, you say how great he is, but everyone’s first (comment) is they hate him. … He’s definitely a menace, and that blue paint is where he likes to be.”

Vegas doesn’t take many penalties, so power plays are likely to be rare in this series. Those rare opportunities are when Hynes expects Eriksson Ek’s size and skill to be most vital, adding that his intensity is what sets him apart from other forwards his size.

When the red light turns on, with Eriksson Ek standing in the opposing goalie’s face, fans see the smile that is so common a part of off-ice life for Joel Eriksson Ek.

“He’s a highly competitive guy. I think he takes pride in being the player he is. He’s a very intense competitor, he knows how to play and is willing to play in the hard areas of the ice,” Hynes said. “He takes pride in the power play not just at the net-front, but puck retrievals and allowing second and third opportunities on the power play.”