From back-to-back loses to back-to-back wins, the Wild are looking like themselves again after a complete team effort vs. the Maple Leafs.

Minnesota Gophers coach Bob Motzko likes to say that in college hockey, you get three kicks of the garbage can per season. At the NHL level, Wild coach John Hynes said, you don’t get three.

Wild coach John Hynes sent a message to his team after a relatively lifeless home loss last Saturday. Hynes put two of his regulars – forward Yakov Trenin and defenseman Declan Chisholm – in street clothes for a game in Chicago on Sunday.

Forward Yakov Trenin was a healthy scratch for the first time this season, replaced by Drew Shore in the lineup, and defenseman Declan Chisholm — also healthy — sat out for the first time since Nov. 23, replaced by Travis Dermott.

The Jack Adams Award odds have been updated, with the current Minnesota Wild head coach and former among the top contenders.

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.

Filip Gustavsson made 32 saves for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. “We had really strong work ethic,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said.

John Hynes knows that William Nylander can lead the Maple Leafs out of the little hole they’ve dug for themselves. The Leafs have scored just two goals in losing their past two games, and neither came off the stick of Nylander after the star winger had four goals in the previous three games, all Toronto victories.

Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River in Washington on Wednesday night, the Kremlin and state media said.

Facing another month-plus without their star forward, the Wild set the blueprint for how to win without Kaprizov.

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.

During the fracas, Minnesota goalie ... but the Wild response to the hit left their coach disappointed. In some frank postgame words for his team, John Hynes sought more pushback from his players.