Wild shut out by Utah, 4-0, despite return of Kirill Kaprizov, Jared Spurgeon

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 23, 2025

Published in Hockey

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild had their best player back for the first time in a month, but they didn’t play like it.

Kirill Kaprizov’s return was spoiled by a 4-0 shellacking from Utah Hockey Club Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center that continued the Wild’s woes at home.

This was the third consecutive game they’ve dropped in St. Paul. Overall, the Wild have won just once in their last five.

Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka stopped 26 shots for his first shutout of the season, thwarting a Wild lineup that was as close to full strength as the team has been in more than two months.

Aside from Kaprizov, who was back after missing 12 games because of a lower-body injury, captain Jared Spurgeon suited up for the first time since New Year’s Eve and skated in his 900th career game. The defenseman hurt his ankle and knee after getting slew-footed into the boards on New Year’s Eve by Nashville’s Zachary L’Heureux, who was suspended for three games and reached out to Spurgeon.

After season-ending hip and back surgeries a year ago, Spurgeon was out again in October to continue to heal but was a stabilizing presence on the blue line in his return.

“That was the most frustrating part,” Spurgeon said, “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. 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.”

The Wild were still without defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body) and winger Marcus Johansson (concussion), but other than a cheer during Kaprizov’s first shift, the updated look was barely noticeable while the Wild were shut out for the second time.

Only 1 minute, 46 seconds into the first period, Barrett Hayton tipped in a shot by Nick DeSimone after a ferocious forecheck by Utah worked the puck back to the point.

Utah scored again at 8:38, when former Wild defenseman Ian Cole buried a rebound off a 2-on-1, but the Wild challenged for goalie interference and the goal was overturned: Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller bumped Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson before Cole’s shot. The Wild improved to 6 for 6 in challenges.

But Utah still doubled its lead before the first ended.

On its first of two power plays, Keller — sporting a gruesome black eye after taking a puck to the face last game — scooted from the slot to the left faceoff circle where he uncorked a top-shelf shot over Gustavsson’s right shoulder at 15:55. Seconds earlier, the Wild botched a short-handed 2-on-1 rush between Jake Middleton and Joel Eriksson Ek.

Utah outshot the Wild 15-5 in the first and while the Wild turned the tables in the second, gaining a 12-3 edge, they bobbled pucks to stay out-of-sync.

Meanwhile, Utah connected on one of its few chances, with Lawson Crouse getting a piece of an Olli Maatta wind-up to lift the puck behind Gustavsson at 14:14.

The Wild went on the power play soon after but whiffed, going 0 for 3 on seven shots.

In the third period, Utah put the finishing touches on its rout on Hayton’s second goal of the night.

After Gustavsson blocked the initial shot from DeSimone, Hayton whacked in the rebound at 1:48. Gustavsson finished with 25 saves in his first action in more than a week after illness sidelined him over the weekend. He’s winless in his last five starts, a skid in which he’s given up 23 goals.