MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon were back in the Minnesota Wild lineup Thursday night, but it didn’t give them the spark they had hoped for in a 4-0 loss to the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.

Superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon returned to practice on Wednesday. Head coach John Hynes told reporters he's "cautiously optimistic" that both will play in their upcoming game against the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.

The Wild have a hard time explaining why there’s been such a difference in home/road splits this season. They boast a .740 points percentage (tops in the NHL) on the road so far, and .500 at home (23rd in NHL). Their Corsi-For per 60 at home in five-on-five play is 54.65 (30th in the league), and 55.03 on the road (23rd).

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, and the Utah Hockey Club defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-0 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

In his first full season as the Wild head coach, John Hynes has emphasized an even keel ... available for Thursday night’s home game with Utah. Even if it looks very much as if their first ...

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes met with the media Friday morning ... The Wild’s next home game is Thursday against Utah.

Filip Gustavsson made 25 saves for the Wild (28-16-4), which has lost four of its past five. Forward Kirill Kaprizov had three shots in 16:39 after missing the past 12 games with a lower-body injury.

One of the players, Kirill Kaprizov, is the leading scorer on the Wild. The other, Jared Spurgeon, is the team captain and a respected leader in the dressing room."It's exciting," Eriksson Ek said. "Two very important players for us. It's fun to have them back out there."

Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, and the Utah Hockey Club defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-0 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. “We did a great

Kaprizov had a couple scoring chances for the Wild (28-16-4), who were delighted to get their superstar back after he missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury. Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for Utah (21-19-7) in what was just their second shutout win of the season.

Eventually, the Wild will fix or fester in their struggles at home. More than half of their remaining schedule will be played in St. Paul, so they’ll have to answer the question. Currently, a seven-game stay in March looks like a sinkhole,