I just think we need a little bit more there,” John Hynes said prior to the game in Chicago, noting that he had spoken to both players on Sunday morning to let them know of the lineup changes.

Being in a U.S. market where hockey is the number one sport in the state, today is another example of why it’s great to be here,” Wild coach John Hynes said.

Coach John Hynes emphasized returning to “the commitment level that it takes to win” after Minnesota's fifth loss in six games and drop below .500 in games at Xcel Energy Center.

In the middle frame, Chicago’s Nick Foligno was whistled for holding Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov, and complained a bit too forcefully about the call, drawing a second penalty. Minnesota made it 3-0 on the extended power play, as Eriksson Ek recorded his ninth goal of the season and second of the weekend.

And the clearest signal that Kaprizov and Spurgeon would be back is that the Wild reassigned defenseman David Jiricek two hours after practice. If you did the salary cap math, it really was the only option to get below the cap ceiling once Kaprizov is activated from LTIR.

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.

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.

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).

Progressing from concussion

Marco Rossi had three assists and Joel Eriksson Ek scored for the Wild (28-17-4), who have lost their past two games and five of six. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves. “Winning simple is hard,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “You gotta choose your hard, right? And right now we’re not choosing our hard the right way, and it’s costing us games.”

ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon will be in the lineup on Thursday.

"We're choosing to lose," coach John Hynes said after the Wild's woes at home continued with a 5-4 loss to the Flames.