The Minnesota Wild have managed to hold together a highly competitive team all season despite a series of injuries that have sidelined several of their most important players. Their lineup got a big boost Thursday when star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon were activated from injured reserve.

The Wild had their best player back for the first time in a month, but they didn’t play like it. Kirill Kaprizov’s return was spoiled by a 4-0 shellacking from Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center that continued the Wild’s woes at home.

The Minnesota Wild faced the Utah Hockey Club for the third time this season and the second meeting in Minnesota. Each team won their respective road game, with the Wild winning 5-4 in a shootout in Salt Lake City and then Utah won 2-1 in regulation in St.

Now that the Utah Hockey Club has figured out how to win games at home, it’s hitting the road again. Up first are the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are 1-3-0 in their last four games, but they’re still the second-placed team in the Central Division and the fourth-best team in the Western Conference overall.

Shifts to IR

Brodin (lower body) will not join the Wild for their two-game road trip, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports Friday.

It is safe to say the Wild are excited to get Spurgeon back into the lineup and start to get healthy again. Faber has been back in the lineup the last couple of games and Kaprizov

The Wild look to have superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon back in their lineup Thursday against Utah.