With points in 11 of their first 14 games and the leading goal scorer in the NHL in Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild headed into Thursday night’s home game versus the New York Islanders like a ship with wind in its sails.

But they did so, for the second time this season, without a captain on the bench.

After blocking a pair of Mammoth shots during a penalty kill in Tuesday’s 3-1 win in Utah, Wild captain Jared Spurgeon left the game early, and the timetable for his return is unknown.

“Spurgey’s out,” was the definitive word from Wild coach John Hynes during the team’s optional morning skate at TRIA Rink. Hynes classified Spurgeon as week-to-week following the shot blocks. The team called up defenseman Carson Lambos and were ready to use David Spacek join Matt Kiersted for the team’s third defensive pair versus the Islanders.

It’s just the latest manpower loss for a team that started the season 9-3-2 despite losing star defenseman Brock Faber to a skull fracture in the preseason. This will be the second time this month that Spurgeon has been lost after he missed four games.

The Wild’s healthy defensemen say that playing team hockey is the key to success when regular players are missing.

“I think we just play as a five-man unit out there,” said veteran Jonas Brodin, who came into Thursday’s game in the top 12 league-wide with 29 blocked shots this season. “It’s tough to see Fabes and now Spurge out again. It’s two big players for us. But I thought the guys that come in have stepped up. We play as a five-man unit and defend really hard.”

Hynes did offer some encouraging news about Faber, saying that progress continues to be made and a return to the ice is inching closer.

“Fabes is cleared to return. Not to play, but his protocol to play — exercise, workouts,” Hynes said. “I think he’s going to start skating in another day or so, and then we’ll go from there.”

Hynes added that brothers Marcus and Nick Foligno have been skating on their own but have not returned to full practice. Nick played the first three games of the season before being sidelined with an upper body injury. His younger brother got into four games but has been out with a mid-body injury since Oct. 10.

The team also lost third-pair defenseman Daemon Hunt last week when he was claimed off waivers by Nashville. Hunt had played 11 games for Minnesota this season without a point. He has one assist in his first two games with the Predators.

Goalie Filip Gustavsson has resumed skating after off-season hip surgery but is not expected back in the lineup until likely early December, Wild general manager Bill Guerin told Chad Hartman on WCCO Radio this week.