The Wild activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve before their game against Utah on Thursday, putting two integral players back in the lineup.

Philipp Kurashev had a bounce-back game, but the Chicago Blackhawks coughed up two leads — including a two-goal advantage.

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Kirill Kaprizov will return to the lineup for the Minnesota Wild against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+). The forward has missed the past 12 games with a lower-body injury that was considered day to day.

Steven Stamkos, Gustav Nyquist, and Ryan O'Reilly went 3-for-3 in the shootout to lift the Nashville Predators 3-2 over the Chicago Blackhawks.

As per Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are set to activate Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon from the injured reserve and long-term injured reserve.

Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin will both be unavailable when the Minnesota Wild take on the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

The Nashville Predators host the Minnesota Wild after the Predators defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout.

What happens with Lukas Reichel will be interesting to watch, plus why Chris O'Hearn was hired as vice president of hockey operations.

The Chicago Blackhawks hired Chris O'Hearn as VP of Hockey Operations. He will work with Kyle Davidson and the front office going forward. The primary roles that O'Hearn, an attorney, will serve are contract negotiations and CBA. Helping with contract negotiations and salary cap management will be the main objectives that O'Hearn has with Chicago.

Nashville (15-22-7, 37 points) beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday, clinching the win with a 3-for-3 shootout performance from Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O'Reilly, and Steven Stamkos. It was the Predators' first appearance in a shootout this season.

If the best NHL teams in the standings and power rankings think they're in a good spot, they need to look over their shoulder.