The Wild brought a 14-3-1 record on Hockey Day Minnesota into Saturday’s game versus Calgary. Hockey Day Minnesota will stay in the Twin Cities’ outer ring suburbs a year from now, with the outdoor rink at the United Heroes League complex in Hastings hosting dozens of outdoor games over the course of a few days in January.

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

And the clearest signal that Kaprizov and Spurgeon would be back is that the Wild reassigned defenseman David Jiricek two hours after practice. If you did the salary cap math, it really was the only option to get below the cap ceiling once Kaprizov is activated from LTIR.

The Minnesota Wild have activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve to put two integral players back in the lineup.

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).

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes wouldn't make a full proclamation at Wednesday morning's practice, but says he's "cautiously optimistic" Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon will return this week - possible as soon as Thursday's home game against Utah.

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.

Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes and winger Marcus Foligno react after a 4-0 loss to Utah Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center as Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon returned to the lineup from injuries.

"We're choosing to lose," coach John Hynes said after the Wild's woes at home continued with a 5-4 loss to the Flames.

Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson looks back at the puck after a Utah goal in the second period Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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.