Zach L'Heureux was suspended 3 games for a slew-foot on the Wild's Jared Spurgeon on Dec. 31. The Predators winger had to answer for the hit on Saturday.

The Minnesota Wild took on the Nashville Predators for the third time this season and the first time on the road on Saturday, Jan. 18. It was a battle

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes provided injury updates Friday, Brock Faber will travel with the team this weekend, Kirill Kaprizov will not.

The Minnesota Wild had a big game circled against the Nashville Predators and revenge for Jared Spurgeon's injury was on their mind.

Without Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota played a smart, poised and gutsy game, pulling away in the third for a 3-1 victory at Ball Arena.

John Hynes worked overtime in the offseason to create depth and condition the Minnesota Wild, which has helped the team rank third in the Western Conference despite an onslaught of injuries. However,

Kaprizov has missed the past 10 games with a lower-body injury that has required lots of treatments and pushed-back timetables.

With star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon still sidelined, the Wild will be without defensemen Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin - and potentially goalie Marc-Andre Fleury - Thursday night against Colorado.

Not since the preseason have the Wild had a practice as crowded as the session they held Friday at Tria Rink in St. Paul. “Felt nice,” alternate captain Marcus Foligno said. “Got a bit of a break.” But when it came time to leave for a road trip to Nashville and Colorado,

Yakov Trenin scored early in the third period and Brock Faber added an insurance goal shortly thereafter to preserve a defensive clinic against Colorado.

After a bad loss to Nashville on Saturday, the Wild bounced back with a smart, structured game plan against the rival Avalanche.

The Wild are now 3-1-1 in early starts following the Martin Luther King Jr. Day afternoon game in Colorado, a 3-1 win for Minnesota.