Are the Minnesota Wild going to be forced out of St. Paul? That's what NHL commissioner Gary Bettman seemed to threaten recently.

Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, Barrett Hayton scored twice and Utah beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Thursday night for its third straight victory.

The Minnesota Wild announced on Thursday that the team has activated forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from Injured Reserve. Both will play in the game tonight versus the Utah Hockey Club.

Spurgeon notched an assist, two shots on goal and five blocked shots in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Flames. Spurgeon missed nine games due to a lower-body injury, and this was his second contest since his return.

Spurgeon scored a goal on three shots in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Blackhawks. Spurgeon has two points over three games since he returned from a lower-body injury. The defenseman was able to get a bit of a breather in this contest since the Wild controlled play well,

Barrett Hayton scores twice, Karel Vejmelka earns first shutout of season as Utah Hockey Club beats Minnesota, 4-0, for third straight win

Kaprizov had a couple scoring chances for the Wild (28-16-4), who were delighted to get their superstar back after he missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury. Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for Utah (21-19-7) in what was just their second shutout win of the season.

Makar gained possession, started a 3-on-1 and made a pass from the right circle to Lehkonen, who lifted the puck over Igor Shesterkin. Newcomer Jack Drury and Juuso Parssinen also scored for the Avs, while Nathan MacKinnon and new acquisition Martin Necas set up both Makar goals.

Takeaways Utah: Utah is two points out of the second wild-card spot in a crowded Western Conference playoff field. Wild: Despite welcoming star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon ...

Jared Spurgeon, Joel Eriksson Ek and Frederick Gaudreau scored to help the Minnesota Wild top the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. Matt Boldy had three assists for Minnesota in the opener of

Rest during the holiday break wasn’t enough for Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov to return from a lower-body injury. Missing 12 games over five weeks didn’t sufficiently enable the injury to heal after a three-game return.

Saturday, 5 p.m. MT, Xcel Energy Center TV: Sportsnet West. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan Odds: Flames +155, Wild -188 The buzz Feisty forward Ryan Lomberg is aware that plenty of outsiders remain unconvinced that his Calgary Flames can stick in a playoff spot.