The Wild activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve before their game against Utah on Thursday, putting two integral players back in the lineup.

Kirill Kaprizov will return to the lineup for the Minnesota Wild against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+). The forward has missed the past 12 games with a lower-body injury that was considered day to day.

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Philipp Kurashev had a bounce-back game, but the Chicago Blackhawks coughed up two leads — including a two-goal advantage.

Steven Stamkos, Gustav Nyquist, and Ryan O'Reilly went 3-for-3 in the shootout to lift the Nashville Predators 3-2 over the Chicago Blackhawks.

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 Nashville Predators host the Minnesota Wild after the Predators defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout.

What happens with Lukas Reichel will be interesting to watch, plus why Chris O'Hearn was hired as vice president of hockey operations.

The Chicago Blackhawks made a smart front-office hire on Monday as Chris O'Hearn will be part of the team. The Chicago Bears of the National Football League made a huge hire in their world on Monday as a new head coach named Ben Johnson is coming to town. However, they weren't the only Chicago team to make an important hire on Monday.

Nashville (15-22-7, 37 points) beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday, clinching the win with a 3-for-3 shootout performance from Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O'Reilly, and Steven Stamkos. It was the Predators' first appearance in a shootout this season.

Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin will both be unavailable when the Minnesota Wild take on the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

If the best NHL teams in the standings and power rankings think they're in a good spot, they need to look over their shoulder.