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Wild slot in Bergenheim with Cooke out for Game 1 vs. Blues

Christopher Hanewinckel / Reuters

The Minnesota Wild will be without one of their most experienced playoff performers for Game 1 of their series against the St. Louis Blues.

Chad Graff of the Pioneer Press reports that forward Matt Cooke will miss Game 1 because of soreness related to a sports hernia injury that has hampered him all season.

Cooke has 103 games of playoff experience, most notably with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks.

Head coach Mike Yeo told Minnesota radio station KFAN 1003 on Thursday that forward Sean Bergenheim will slot in to the game. He'll also sit Jordan Schroeder and Erik Haula.

Bergenheim was acquired by the Wild prior to the trade deadline from the Florida Panthers and only managed one goal in 17 games for Minnesota. He's appeared in 23 playoff games in his career, earning 17 points.

Cooke, a notorious pest with a reputation as one of the league's dirtiest players, has accumulated 36 points and 137 penalty minutes in his postseason career.

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