The Bruins are in Minnesota today, and will be practicing later in the afternoon in preparation of tomorrow night's matchup with the Wild in St. Paul.

Meanwhile, according to general manager Peter Chiarelli, his club could be without top-six winger Chuck Kobasew. The ex-Boston College standout took a shot to an ankle early in last night's 5-4 win over Colorado, and he'll have an X-ray later in the day to determine if he sustained a fracture.

''Right in the meaty part of the ankle,'' said a somewhat discouraged-sounding Chiarelli, reached by phone early this afternoon. ''We'll know more later today, maybe this afternoon.''

The ankle didn't pose any problems, said Chiarelli, until Kobasew removed his skate boot after the game.

''Now he's in a walking cast,'' said Chiarelli.

If Kobasew must sit out tomorrow night, the Bruins could suit up either winger Petteri Nokelainen or Andrew Alberts, both of whom were healthy scratches last night in Denver. Chiarelli said one consideration would be to have Alberts, a career blueliner, suit up and play the wing.

''Sure, it's something we've considered,'' he said. ''Just for one game.''

Kobasew, oft-injured before and after his arrival in Boston in a trade with Calgary in February 2007, picked up a pair of assists (Blake Wheeler and David Krejci goals) against the Avs.

Globe wingman Fluto Shinzawa is in Minnesota and will report back here later.