The Minnesota Wild added another tough name to the injury list on Tuesday night, and this one came with some obvious concern attached. Captain Jared Spurgeon blocked two straight shots in the game against the Utah Mammoth, then left shortly after and was clearly hurting.
That development landed on top of an already bruised situation for Minnesota, which is still dealing with Brock Faber’s early-season injury and waiting on his return timeline. Losing another key defenseman only deepens the uncertainty on the blue line.
Even with Spurgeon exiting, the Wild managed to hold on in a violent 3-1 win over Utah. Kirill Kaprizov did his part in the victory, scoring his 14th goal of the season. It’s still October, by the way.
There’s also another issue hovering around this team: the penalty kill. It hasn’t looked especially sharp, and the question now is whether this is something the Wild can smooth out quickly or whether it’s a season-long problem unless they make an adjustment.
Elsewhere around the league, it was a night for goaltenders. Connor Hellebuyck made his New Jersey Devils debut and looked as if he’d never missed a beat, stopping all but one shot in a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars after sitting out the first month of the season.
Jacob Fowler also put together another strong performance, backstopping a big shutout win over the St. Louis Blues. At this point, it sure looks like he may be pushing Jakub Dobes for the net.
In Other News...
Kirill Kaprizov Has The Wild Looking Dangerous Again
Kirill Kaprizov keeps making the Wild look like a team that can score in bunches and carry it against good opponents, and he did it again in a 3-1 win over the Utah Mammoth. Minnesota got goals from Joel Eriksson Ek and Maxim Shabanov as well, while Jesper Wallstedt backed it up with 26 saves and the club pushed its winning streak to three straight.
Logan Cooleys goal briefly kept Utah in the mix, but the bigger takeaway for Minnesota is how complete the stretch has started to look. The Wild are finding offense from multiple lines and getting enough goaltending to turn close games into results, which is exactly what they needed as this road swing winds down. [Read more 🡒]
Kirill Kaprizov Has The Wild Dreaming About A Bigger Race Again
Kirill Kaprizov has given the Wild exactly the sort of start they were hoping to see after a summer of changes around him. Minnesota let Mats Zuccarello walk in free agency and pushed Kaprizov toward a more downhill approach, hoping to get him closer to the net and into more direct scoring chances. Early in the 2026-27 season, that plan has looked pretty sharp, with Kaprizov once again driving the offense and putting himself right back in the leagues most valuable-player conversation.
The bigger question for Minnesota is how long this pace can last, and whether it can survive the kind of regression that usually comes for hot shooting stretches. Kaprizovs current numbers have the Wild dreaming about a bigger race again, especially after the start he had in 2024-25 before injury changed the shape of that season. For a team that has spent years looking for a true ceiling raiser, this is the kind of early momentum that can change the mood around the room in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]