Kirill Kaprizov is back in action. After missing the past 12 games with a lower-body injury that popped up after the holiday break, Kaprizov was set to make his highly anticipated return on Thursday night against Utah at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild's Kirill Kaprizov is expected to play Thursday after a longer-than-expected break for injury. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The team’s leading scorer didn’t talk about his lower-body injury after morning skate as the team prepared for tonight’s game against Utah.
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.
The Minnesota Wild have activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve to put two integral players back in the lineup.
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.
The Minnesota Wild placed their top-scoring contributor on LTIR on Friday in Kirill Kaprizov because of an aggravated lower-body injury. Minnesota has been one of the NHL's biggest surprises in 2024-24, sitting in second place of the Central Division with 58 points.
The Wild are bringing Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon back from injuries as the NHL season reaches the home stretch.
The Minnesota Wild are trying to stay atop the West, a mission that will be easier if Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon return Thursday.
The move was necessary to make the call-ups needed to have a full roster. It's retroactive, so Kaprizov can return whenever he's ready.
Kaprizov (lower body) will be back in the lineup versus Utah on Thursday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. Kaprizov will return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23 against Chicago, a stretch of 12 games on long-term injured reserve.
The Minnesota Wild placed Kirill Kaprizov on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on Thursday, retroactive to Dec. 23 when he suffered his injury. The move, while removing the Russian forward from the Wild lineup, will also help the team navigate a cap crunch and address its injury-plagued lineup thanks to the cap relief LTIR provides.