Two broken paddles sit atop the ping pong table in a three-bedroom apartment Charlie Coyle and Jason Zucker share in downtown Minneapolis.

The paddles are wrapped in duct tape, and the Wild forwards admit they could use some new ones. But they’ve been on the road a lot lately and haven’t made a Target run yet.

Hanging on the wall near the table is a chalkboard on which they keep track of each win in the highly competitive head-to-head ping pong matches. Coyle claims the chalkboard reflects his winning record since the start of training camp. So, too, do the broken paddles — victims of Zucker’s frustration.

“It gets serious,” Coyle said with a laugh.

On a Wild team of 23 players, none are closer than Coyle and Zucker, roommates for three years and now linemates in the NHL.

They live together, work out after practices together, get dinner together, play video games together, and, thanks to strong starts by each, play on the second line on either side of captain Mikko Koivu.

“We’ve got to separate them a little bit because one has to play left wing and one has to play right wing,” coach Mike Yeo joked. “We put Mikko in between the two to separate them.”

Playing on the same line has only seemed to exacerbate the grief they get from teammates for spending so much time together.

“They do everything together,” center Erik Haula said. “It’s kind of weird.”

Coyle and Zucker call it a natural friendship.

On a team where many players are married with kids, they are the Wild’s lone Americans under the age of 28.

Coyle, from Massachusetts, and Zucker, from Las Vegas, first met at the World Junior Championships when they represented the U.S. When they were called up by the Wild in 2012, they were assigned an apartment together in St. Paul along the Mississippi River.

They’ve lived together ever since.

“We’re basically together 24/7,” Zucker said.

QUIRKS

By now, the 22-year-olds know the quirks of living together.

Zucker, admittedly, is obsessive compulsive. He doesn’t like that Coyle sometimes takes his pregame naps on the couch, or the way Coyle puts away the food after a grocery run.

“I’m really neat and I’ll put everything away neat,” Coyle said. “But it doesn’t have to be in straight lines. Everything (to Zucker) has to perfect.”

That extends to Zucker’s closet, where dozens of his Nike Stefan Janoski shoes are lined up perfectly.

“The shoes can’t be touching,” Coyle said. “They’re kind of like dressy Nike shoes, and he buys literally every pair he sees. I just have regular like hack-around shoes. But that’s him; he likes his style and all that.”

“It’s a little over the top,” Zucker admits.

They don’t do too much cooking at the apartment. Coyle occasionally makes omelets in the morning, and Zucker uses the grill every now and then. He once made Coyle chicken stir fry.

“It actually was pretty good,” Coyle said. “I mean, I’ll eat anything. It could be crap and I’d still eat it. It was pretty good, though. I was impressed.”

Coyle is the more laid back of the two except — Zucker points out — when it comes to selecting a restaurant for dinner. Zucker would prefer to mix it up more.

“He’s got a few spots he stays true to,” Zucker said.

Like the sushi restaurant in St. Paul, where Coyle knows the servers by name and they can place his order as soon as he walks in, often with Zucker tagging along.

Teammates joked that the two must have gone through separation anxiety last summer, when plans to visit fell through. Next summer, though, they promise they’ll visit each other’s hometown.

“They come in twos,” Haula said. “I give them crap all the time.”

CHEMISTRY

The relationship isn’t without its on-the-ice benefits.

The two played well together during a stretch in January and February last season before Zucker suffered a season-ending knee injury. And this season, their play has helped Zucker score a team-best five goals.

“Someone you’re that close with, I think really helps on-the-ice, chemistry-wise,” Coyle said. “Not that there’s any pressure with anyone else, but I know what he’s going to do and it’s easy to get along with him on the ice because we get along so well off it.”

Typically, they’re not competitive with one another. When they play video games — usually FIFA Soccer because they don’t like playing as themselves in the NHL video game — they play on the same team against random opponents online.

But when it comes time for ping pong in the apartment, no holds are barred.

“On game days, it doesn’t count toward our records,” Coyle said. “But on a practice day or off day, it’s serious. We’ll play multiple games.”

Or until a paddle is broken.

Follow Chad Graff at twitter.com/ChadGraff.