SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild hits the ice in Saint Paul tonight. The team is celebrating 2000s Night tonight, featuring in-game elements and a ticket pack that includes an opportunity to meet Kate Flannery, a.k.a. Meredith in the hit show The Office.
The Wild welcomes the Utah Hockey Club tonight, after finally finding a rhythm on Monday against Colorado, a game which the Wild won 3-1. Prior to the win against the Avs, the Wild had lost four of its last five games. With Captain D Jared Spurgeon and LW Kirill Kaprizov rumored to be returning to the lineup any day, The Wild can only hope to regain the fantastic chemistry the team saw at the start of the season.
[Updated at 9:00 a.m. CT] The Minnesota Wild has activated both D Jared Spurgeon and LW Kirill Kaprizov from LTIR.
Wild Record: 28-15-4, 60 points, 2nd in Central Division
Utah Record: 20-19-7, 47 points, 6th in Central Division
2024-25 Series Record: 1-1-0
All-Time Wild Record: 1-1-0 (0-1-0 at Xcel Energy Center)
The Wild triumphed over Colorado on Monday. D Jake Middleton opened the scoring in the first period, assisted by LW Liam Öhgren and C Freddy Gaudreau. C Nathan MacKinnon responded in the second period and scored the lone Colorado goal. The Wild found the back of the net twice in the third period, the first scored by C Yakov Trenin, assisted by D David Jiricek and Öhgren, and the second goal scored by D Brock Faber, assisted by RW Ryan Hartman and Middleton. G Marc-André Fleury stopped 26-of-27 shots on goal.
Utah Hockey Club defeated the Winnipeg Jets on Monday 5-2. D Olli Maatta netted the first goal, his first since Utah acquired him from Detroit in October. C Barrett Hayton scored the next goal for Utah, followed by a slapshot goal from LW Matias Maccelli to bring the game to 4-0. The Jets finally woke up near the midway point of the third period and answered Utah’s goals with two of their own. Those two goals were in vain however, as C Clayton Keller scored the final goal, an empty-netter, to seal the Jets’ fate.
MIN at COL | Recap
The Wild won the first-ever meeting between the two clubs, 5-4, in a shootout in Salt Lake City (12/10), Utah’s first shootout in franchise history. The Wild lost the second game, 2-1, to St. Paul (12/20).
LW Marcus Johansson leads Minnesota with three points (1-2=3). Kaprizov (1-1=2) and C Marco Rossi (1-1=2) each own two points. G Filip Gustavsson stopped 21-of-25 shots faced to earn the win for Minnesota in the first contest. Fleury stopped 16-of-18 shots faced for the Wild in the second game.
RW Dylan Guenther (2-2=4) leads Utah with four points against the Wild this season. Keller (2-1=3) and D Mikhail Sergachev (0-3=3) each own three points. G Karel Vejmelka is 1-0-1 with a 2.41 and a .925 SV% while starting both games for Utah.
Reassigned F Brendan Gaunce to Iowa
Reassigned G Dylan Ferguson to Iowa
Recalled G Dylan Ferguson from Iowa under emergency conditions
Placed D Jonas Brodin on Injured Reserve
Converted D David Jiricek’s emergency recall to a regular recall
Recalled F Devin Shore from Iowa
Activated F Jakub Lauko from Injured Reserve
Reassigned F Ben Jones and F Devin Shore to Iowa
Recalled F Brendan Gaunce and F Liam Ohgren from Iowa
Placed F Kirill Kaprizov on Long-Term Injured Reserve
Placed F Marcus Johansson on Injured Reserve
Recalled F Devin Shore from Iowa
Reassigned F Devin Shore to Iowa and recalled D David Jiricek from Iowa
Placed F Jakub Lauko on Long-Term Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 14
Signed G Dylan Ferguson to a one-year, two-way contract
Activated D Jake Middleton from Long-Term Injured Reserv
Reassigned F Travis Boyd, F Brendan Gaunce and D Carson Lambos to Iowa
Recalled F Travis Boyd (emergency), F Brendan Gaunce (emergency) and D Carson Lambos (regular) from Iowa
Recalled F Brendan Gaunce and D Carson Lambos from Iowa
Placed F Kirill Kaprizov on Injured Reserve
To view recent transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.
Jonas Brodin: lower-body injury (six games missed)
Marcus Johansson: concussion (two game missed)
Kirill Kaprizov: lower-body injury (12 games missed)
Jared Spurgeon: lower-body injury (nine games missed)
For more information on today’s matchup, check out the game notes below.
