Wild players wanted a stiffer penalty for Zach L’Heureux from the NHL but say they're happy to take matters into their own hands Saturday.

The Minnesota Wild hosted the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday evening, Jan. 23, in their third meeting of the season. After being injured, they welcomed Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon back to the lineup,

Marc-Andre Fleury came to Las Vegas and got in on the ground ... prior to their 3-1 win in San Jose on Saturday. He added that team captain Jared Spurgeon has begun “hard physical activity off the ice” as he works to return from a lower-body injury ...

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.

Marc-Andre Fleury had 36 saves for the Wild in the latest entry of his rollercoaster week. On Tuesday, he came on in relief of Filip Gustavsson in a come-from-behind win over St. Louis. Two nights later, Fleury was so floored by an illness that he could only stay on the team bench for two periods as Gustavsson played, and lost, versus Colorado.

Without Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota played a smart, poised and gutsy game, pulling away in the third for a 3-1 victory at Ball Arena.

Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek smiled when asked about two of his longtime teammates returning from injuries this week.

Goaltending sure is a fickle position in the NHL these days. There are only a few true No. 1 netminders in the league. The type of goaltender a team can lean on for crucial stretches in a season and eventually a long playoff run if they are lucky.

The Wild have a hard time explaining why there’s been such a difference in home/road splits this season. They boast a .740 points percentage (tops in the NHL) on the road so far, and .500 at home (23rd in NHL). Their Corsi-For per 60 at home in five-on-five play is 54.65 (30th in the league), and 55.03 on the road (23rd).

A couple of weeks ago, the NHL announced the first and second Quarter-Century teams for the Minnesota Wild, and it’s time to take a look at who they chose.

Some of the issues that looked fixed two days ago in a decisive win against the Dallas Stars were again troubling for the Colorado Avalanche in a loss to the Minnesota Wild.

The game was tied entering the third period but Trenin gave the Wild a 2-1 lead with a wrister in the slot that beat Mackenzie Blackwood at 2:08.