Kaprizov to return to lineup for Wild against Utah

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- 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. Wild general manager Bill Guerin addressed the media on Jan. 2 and reiterated that Kaprizov was dealing with a non-serious issue that they wanted to be overly cautious with in its healing.

"It's always a good feeling to skate with the team and come back with the boys. It's a nice feeling," Kaprizov said. " … Just something happened. I just don't want to talk about this a lot. It's now good."

Kaprizov, who last played Dec. 23, didn't resume skating until Jan. 9, and was placed on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 18.

"Sometimes it happens," Kaprizov said. "… it's always boring. Staying at home all the time. No road trips. Just practicing here alone always. … Nothing crazy. Just watched games. Practicing. Stuff like this. That's it."

Kaprizov was seemingly an early-season Hart Trophy contender as NHL MVP and was on pace for a 100-point season for the second time in his career. He had a goal in his last game, a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec 23, and was tied for second in the league in goals (23) and tied for fourth in points (50) through 34 games. Kaprizov currently ranks tied for 11th in goals and tied for 21st in points.

"I hope so," he said, on if he could match his production prior to the injury. "I don't know. I just try don't think about this. Now I am just happy to come back. I don't play one month. I don't think about points or something like that. I just want to feel good in the game."

Despite his absence, he still leads Minnesota in all scoring categories and is first on the team with a plus-21 rating, and second with 11 power-play points, behind Matt Boldy (12).

"He's such a workhorse in games and then practices and then after practices, it's just probably like any player" Wild coach John Hynes said of Kaprizov. "But with Kirill, getting to know him more, he's got to do what he needs to do to get himself ready and prepared. … Nothing major. Just make sure he's feeling good and prepared to play but also making sure that he's managing himself."

Minnesota has gone 7-5-0 without Kaprizov in the lineup and has managed to maintain a hold on second in the Central Division, trailing the Winnipeg Jets by seven points.

"Guys played good," Kaprizov said. "[Had] a lot of wins in this time. I think it was good."

Kaprizov will resume his role on the top line with Marco Rossi at center and Mats Zuccarello at right wing -- a line that was the most dominant in the NHL at 5-on-5 prior to his injury.

"We just try to play the same," Kaprizov said. "We know how we play. We know our tactics. We know what we want to do. We just try to win games."

Defenseman and captain Jared Spurgeon will also return to the lineup having missed nine games following a slew foot from Nashville Predators forward Zachary L'Heureux on Jan. 31. Spurgeon has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 32 games and is averaging 20:43 of ice time per game.

He was limited to 16 games last season because of injuries.

"I think that was the most frustrating part, that last year you go through all that stuff and work your way back and feel healthy again, and all of a sudden, something like that happens," Spurgeon said. "So I think that was the most frustrating part, just having to go back in the gym doing the same stuff all over again. It brings back some bad memories."

With Spurgeon returning, Minnesota reassigned defenseman David Jiricek to Iowa of the American Hockey League

"Obviously we get two guys that are leaders on our team on the ice," Hynes said. "I think that's important. Nice to see those guys back. They had a long road to get back and put in a lot of hard work so it's nice that they're getting an opportunity to play tonight."