David’s come in and I think he’s really shown some of his very good attributes,” John Hynes said, with a nod to Jiricek’s imposing 6-foot-3 frame. “You can’t teach size.”

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.

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 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.

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.

The Minnesota Wild activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve to put two integral players back in the lineup. Kaprizov missed 12 games with a lower-body

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.

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

Jared Spurgeon put the Wild up 1-0 at 5:43 of the first period, taking a pass in the slot from Boldy and putting the puck past the stick side of Mrazek. Frederick Gaudreau made it 2-0 at 7:17, when his shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle got past Mrazek on the short side.

In the middle frame, Chicago’s Nick Foligno was whistled for holding Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov, and complained a bit too forcefully about the call, drawing a second penalty. Minnesota made it 3-0 on the extended power play, as Eriksson Ek recorded his ninth goal of the season and second of the weekend.

CHICAGO -- Matt Boldy had three assists, and the Minnesota Wild held on for a 4-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Sunday. Boldy has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games.