The Minnesota Wild are getting a perfect storm of returns for Thursday evening against the Utah Hockey Club as both star forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon have been activated from IR.

The Wild are bringing Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon back from injuries as the NHL season reaches the home stretch.

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

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 were shutout at home 4-0 against the Utah Hockey Club. Despite each playing for more than 15 minutes on the ice, neither superstar had much of an impact on the game, Kaprizov only had 3 shots on goal, and Spurgeon with 0. The team in total had 26 shots on goal, and all were saved by Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka.

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

Coach John Hynes, per Michael Russo of The Athletic, told reporters he is " cautiously optimistic " that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain/defenceman Jared Spurgeon will return from injury Thursday against the Utah Hockey Club.

It appeared to be a tight game until the very end when the Flames pulled ahead, the Wild responded but the Flames got the win.

Andrei Kuzmenko had two goals and an assist, and the Calgary Flames used their power play to beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4.

While still holding the best road record in the NHL, Minnesota fell to below .500 at home (11-12-1) with the loss.