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 Minnesota Wild are trying to stay atop the West, a mission that will be easier if Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon return Thursday.

Kaprizov (lower body) will be back in the lineup versus Utah on Thursday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. Kaprizov will return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23 against Chicago, a stretch of 12 games on long-term injured reserve.

In his first full season as the Wild head coach, John Hynes has emphasized an even keel, never wanting his team to get too high after wins or too low after losses. So, with star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon skating full practices with the team Wednesday at TRIA Rink,

ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon will be in the lineup on Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild placed their top-scoring contributor on LTIR on Friday in Kirill Kaprizov because of an aggravated lower-body injury. Minnesota has been one of the NHL's biggest surprises in 2024-24, sitting in second place of the Central Division with 58 points.

As per Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are set to activate Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon from the injured reserve and long-term injured reserve.

The move was necessary to make the call-ups needed to have a full roster. It's retroactive, so Kaprizov can return whenever he's ready.

That's Wild Any time would be a good time for the Minnesota Wild to get star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon back from their absences due to injury, but as the duo makes their return to the ice for Thursday against the Utah Hockey Club,

The hope is one or more of those bodies could be back this week when the Wild host Utah at 7 P-M tonight or against the Flames on Saturday night to finish off Hockey Day Minnesota.

Spurgeon missed the Wild's last nine games due to his lower-body issue but looks good to go again. In order to activate Spurgeon and Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) off injured reserve, the team needed to send David Jiricek back to the minors.