The only game the Wild have won with Gustavsson as the starter during that stretch was a comeback win over the St. Louis Blues, when he was pulled in favor of future Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Kaprizov had a couple scoring chances for the Wild (28-16-4), who were delighted to get their superstar back after he missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury. Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for Utah (21-19-7) in what was just their second shutout win of the season.

Filip Gustavsson has been better than most people's expectations this year after finishing last season with a .899 SV% and GAA of 3.06. His 14.8 goals saved above expected highlights his surprising improvement,

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

At first glance, the Utah Hockey Club played a perfect game on Thursday. But the stats suggest there was lots of room for improvement.

Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson looks back at the puck after a Utah goal in the second period Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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).

Several outlets reported this week that Philadelphia Flyers’ goalie Sam Ersson is expected to replace New Jersey Devils’ netminder Jacob Markstrom on Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, as Markstrom is dealing with a sprained knee that will sideline him for four-to-six weeks.

"I wish I knew. I don’t know. I don’t have a good answer for you," Wild forward Mats Zuccarello said on the home struggles. "We try to play the same way doesn’t matter if you’re home or away. But today especially today I think we gave them a little too much easy offense."

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 Flames may not be the highest-scoring team in the NHL, but they can score goals tonight against the Wild, as our expert NHL predictions explain.

Utah entered Minnesota with plenty of momentum after playing a complete game in its 5-2 win over Winnipeg. Scoring a goal in just 1:46, Utah came out fast and never looked back.