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

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.

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes said he is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon will return to the lineup against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild survived without Kirill Kaprizov the first time, and they can do it again. That’s the message they sent Wednesday, when they upended the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena to kick off Kaprizov’s second hiatus with their most convincing victory in weeks.

The Minnesota Wild will face a minimum of four weeks without superstar Kirill Kaprizov after it was determined Tuesday that he requires surgery to repair his lingering lower-body injury. Sources close to Kaprizov said the winger is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday.

Top scorer Kirill Kaprizov will have surgery later this week. The big picture: News that the star winger's lingering lower-body injury hasn't fully healed comes as the Wild embark on a challenging four-game road trip this week.