Wild players enjoy seeing their teammates thrive at 4 Nations Face-Off

The Wild reunited after a week-plus break with plenty of room to spread out on the ice.

“Feels a little empty, that’s for sure,” goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said.

A fourth of the Wild’s lineup was missing from practice Wednesday at Tria Rink in St. Paul: Forward Matt Boldy, defenseman Brock Faber and head coach John Hynes are still in Boston with Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off and although Sweden has already been eliminated, defenseman Jonas Brodin, forward Joel Eriksson Ek and goaltender Filip Gustavsson won’t rejoin practice until Friday.

The Wild resume their season Saturday at Detroit; Boldy, Faber and Hynes, who’s an assistant coach on the U.S. staff, will meet the team there.

“Good to be back,” said Fleury, who vacationed in the Caribbean during the hiatus. “Good to see sun and warmth for a bit. So, it was nice, but it’s good to be back and play hockey again.”

To give them extra numbers for practice, the Wild called up forward Travis Boyd and goalie Dylan Ferguson from the minors before returning the two to Iowa in the American Hockey League after Wednesday’s session.

Forwards Liam Ohgren and Devin Shore were also added back onto the roster, and winger Jakub Lauko participated in practice after being shut down before the layoff with a lower-body injury. Captain Jared Spurgeon skated Tuesday when players reported to their teams, but Spurgeon was absent Wednesday because he wasn’t feeling well.

Kirill Kaprizov, who’s on the mend from surgery on a lower-body injury, isn’t practicing yet; the soonest the winger could be activated off long-term injured reserve is the Wild’s first game in March.

In preparation for the team’s restart, the assistant coaches are leading what has the feel of a mini training camp while Boldy, Faber and Hynes are on the cusp of the most anticipated hockey game in years.

The United States and Canada will square off Thursday night in the championship of the 4 Nations tournament, a best-on-best showdown featuring the NHL’s top talent that replaced this year’s All-Star Game and has electrified the sport by reigniting the rivalry between the U.S. and Canada.

“Love the games,” Fleury said. “Love to see our boys doing awesome. It’s been so fun. It’s so quick, and I think these guys, they don’t practice together much, but they still make so many heads-up plays in front of each other, and they’re playing fast. Some physicality, too, so it’s been fun to watch.”

Sweden and Finland didn’t advance, although the Wild’s representatives impressed: Eriksson Ek had a goal and assist, Brodin scored, too, and Gustavsson helped Sweden snag a point in an overtime loss to Canada with 24 saves before he was removed from his next start because of illness.

Boldy and Faber have also delivered, with Boldy tallying a goal and two assists and Faber picking up two assists — one of which was a shot that Boldy deflected in for his goal. Faber has also shined defensively, playing on Team USA’s top pair alongside Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin.

“We’re obviously really excited about Bolds and Fabes and how well they’ve been playing in that tournament,” alternate captain Marcus Foligno said, “and how big of players they’ve been on that team with all the star power.”

The finale will be a rematch of the 3-1 victory by the Americans over the Canadians last Saturday, a fast and feisty battle that included three fights in the first nine seconds and was watched by 10.1 million viewers across North America.

“This is a win-win situation for me. I’m celebrating no matter what,” said dual-citizen Foligno before clarifying his preference. “No, hopefully, Team Canada can win.”

He isn’t the only one rooting for his Wild teammates’ opponent.

“Sorry Fabes and Bolds,” said Fleury, who, like Foligno, suited up for Canada at the World Junior Championship; Fleury was also on the Canadian squad that won gold at the 2010 Olympics. “It’s my team growing up. Always cheer for them since I was a kid. Can’t be jumping boats.”

But it won’t be long before everyone’s allegiance is the same again: The Wild are third in the Central Division at 33-19-4, their 70 points are two behind Dallas for second place and just two ahead of wild-card Colorado.

“The vitamin D was great in Mexico,” Foligno said. “It feels good [to] mentally reset, and we all know what’s at stake this next 26 games or so. So, it’s a sprint now.

“We’re excited to be back. This is coming into the best time of the year.”