John Marino’s arrival has helped steady the backend without Sergachev. The defenseman — who was traded to Utah this summer from the New Jersey Devils — made his team debut on Jan. 14 and has played in four games. The 27-year-old missed training camp and the first half of the year after undergoing lower-back surgery in October.

Dylan Guenther, who scored both of Utah’s goals on Dec. 20, is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Mikhail Sergachev, who had three assists in those two games, is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear whether he’ll be ready to play Thursday.

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.

Earlier this month, the trademark for Utah Yetis was refused by the United States Patent and Trademark Office due to a

As mentioned, Kesselring took advantage of the chance to prove himself as a legitimate top-four defenseman; Jaxson Stauber showed that he can play in the NHL; Olli Määttä earned a spot on Finland’s 4 Nations Face-Off team — a chance he may not have gotten if he’d stayed in Detroit.

The Jets, who lead the Central Division by five points and sit second in the NHL rankings, came into Delta Center winning three of their last four games. Utah did not let the numbers get in its head and put forth a high-paced, even-keeled effort that earned it two more points in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Utah Hockey Club entered the league under very unusual circumstances, with the franchise only coming into existence less than six months before its inaugural season. As a result, the team opted to use temporary branding for said inaugural season while developing a permanent identity for the 2025-26 season.

See the injury report for the Minnesota Wild (28-15-4), which currently has five players listed (including Kirill Kaprizov), as the Wild prepare for their matchup against the Utah Hockey Club

The Utah Hockey Club's attempt to use 'Yeti' as their team name was denied due to potential confusion with the Yeti brand.