More than just about any major sport, rust seems to be a factor in hockey. If a player goes two days without hitting the ice, the results can be rough; for a time, anyway.

So, it’s not at all surprising, after missing the season’s first two months, that Wild center Nico Sturm would take some time to get up to speed.

Acquired in the free-agent market over the summer, Sturm suffered a back injury on Day 1 of Minnesota’s training camp, and after a surgery to repair the damage, did not see game action until a Nov. 23 game in Winnipeg. Sturm admitted that it was taking him some time to get his groove back.

But after his faceoff win in the first period Tuesday in Edmonton set up the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Wild victory, coach John Hynes admitted that Minnesota is getting exactly what it bou

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