Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, Barrett Hayton scored twice and Utah beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Thursday night for its third straight victory.

The Minnesota Wild host the Utah Hockey Club Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center, and could be getting two of their best players back from injury. Forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon were on the ice with the team at practice on Wednesday at TRIA Rink.

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson struggled and Minnesota's offense couldn't find its rhythm in a 4-0 loss against a team currently outside of the playoff picture in the NHL's Western C

Barrett Hayton scores twice, Karel Vejmelka earns first shutout of season as Utah Hockey Club beats Minnesota, 4-0, for third straight win

The Utah Hockey Club pulled off a great game against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday to begin their three-game road trip, beating them 4-0 to get closer to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Vegas reached the halfway point of its season atop the NHL. The 59 points the Golden Knights recorded through 41 games are their second highest in franchise history, behind only the 60 they posted during their inaugural season.

Spurgeon missed the Wild's last nine games due to his lower-body issue but looks good to go again. In order to activate Spurgeon and Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) off injured reserve, the team needed to send David Jiricek back to the minors.

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.

John Hynes worked overtime in the offseason to create depth and condition the Minnesota Wild, which has helped the team rank third in the Western Conference despite an onslaught of injuries. However,

The Wild fell 4-1 in Vegas, but Gustavsson's play was encouraging. Bill Guerin had an update on Kirill Kaprizov's return.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, Barrett Hayton scored twice and Utah beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Thursday night for its third straight victory. Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse also scored, and defenseman Nick DiSimone assisted on both of Hayton's goals.

Dylan Guenther, who scored both of Utah’s goals on Dec. 20, is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Mikhail Sergachev, who had three assists in those two games, is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear whether he’ll be ready to play Thursday.