Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes expressed his frustration regarding the referee's explanation following a controversial no-call on Connor McDavid's elbow to Marcus Johansson on Wednesday.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon were back in the Minnesota Wild lineup Thursday night, but it didn’t give them the spark they had hoped for in a 4-0 loss to the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.

The Wild are now 3-1-1 in early starts following the Martin Luther King Jr. Day afternoon game in Colorado, a 3-1 win for Minnesota.

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,

Kaprizov returns for Minnesota, which has lost 4 of 5 ST. PAUL, Minn. – Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, and the Utah Hockey Club defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-0 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

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).

Despite Thursday’s tough outcome, Wild players were thrilled to have their captain and star forward back in the lineup.

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes wouldn't make a full proclamation at Wednesday morning's practice, but says he's "cautiously optimistic" Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon will return this week - possible as soon as Thursday's home game against Utah.

The Minnesota Wild have activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve to put two integral players back in the lineup.

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild (28-16-4) dropped another game at home this season and have now fallen to 11-11-1 on home ice this year. They have lost the last three games at home and are 4-8-0 in their last 11 at home.

With a win on Monday against the Colorado Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild are off to a good start this season. Joe O'Donnell, a radio play-by-play announcer, visited KARE 11 News at Noon to break down the team's success.