Calgary Flames (23-16-7, in the Pacific Division) vs. Minnesota Wild (28-16-4, in the Central Division) Saint Paul, Minnesota; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Wild aim to break their three-game home skid with a win against the Calgary Flames.

Winners are now crowned in the St. Paul Winter Carnival’s ice carving competitions. For the multi-block showdown, local sculptors Paul and Deneena Hughes from Eden Prairie took home this year’s bragging rights with their sculpture, “Tonight We Ride.”

The Minnesota Wild (28-15-4) host the Utah Hockey Club (20-19-7) during Thursday’s NHL schedule, starting at 8:00 PM ET at Xcel Energy Center and broadcast on ESPN+. The Wild sit in fourth place and the Utah Hockey Club are 11th in the Western Conference.

Superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon returned to practice on Wednesday. Head coach John Hynes told reporters he's "cautiously optimistic" that both will play in their upcoming game against the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.

BOTTOM LINE: Central Division opponents meet when the Minnesota Wild play the Utah Hockey Club. Minnesota has gone 28-15-4 overall with a 10-6-2 record in Central Division play. The Wild are 26-2-2 when scoring three or more goals.

David Jiricek scored for the Wild early in a fight-filled opening period, but they struggled to find other offense until Nashville had taken a comfortable lead, losing their third consecutive game.

Connor McDavid had two goals and an assist and climbed into sole possession of second place on Edmonton's all-time points list, and the Oilers pulled away for a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night in Saint Paul,

The Wild got early goals from Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi, and a second period goal from Ryan Hartman, but could not hold their leads, despite testing Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard repeatedly.

Vasily Podkolzin scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Connor McDavid had two goals and an assist, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the

Regardless, the Wild will rely on their depth players as they remain without several key contributors. In addition to Kaprizov, Minnesota is playing without captain Jared Spurgeon, first-unit defensemen Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin and forward Jakub Lauko.

Minnesota Wild (27-13-4, in the Central Division) Saint Paul, Minnesota ... The Oilers won the previous meeting 7-1. TOP PERFORMERS: Marco Rossi has 16 goals and 22 assists for the Wild. Mats Zuccarello has four goals and eight assists over the past ...

PAUL - Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has passed Patrick Roy in the record books yet again. Related: Wild give prospect Liam Ohgren huge opportunity. His latest record is minutes played.