Wild look to continue knack for bouncing back when they face Utah Hockey Club

SALT LAKE CITY – As infrequent as losses have been for the Wild, what’s even rarer is two in a row.

Only twice have the Wild dropped back-to-back games, and both “skids” included a shootout finish. They’ve followed up every regulation defeat with a win, meaning the longest they’ve gone without picking up a point is a single game.

To keep their perfect response record intact, the Wild will need another bounce-back effort in their road trip finale on Tuesday in their first appearance at Utah after a lull over the weekend to Los Angeles.

“Same as when you win,” captain Jared Spurgeon said. “Once that win’s done, you’re onto the next one. Take things from every game on video, just what we can improve on. But once that one’s done, you can’t really do much about it so you’re looking forward to the next one.”

The Wild’s five regulation losses through 27 games are the fewest in the NHL, and the Kings are responsible for two of them.

After pulling away late on Nov. 5 for a 5-1 victory, Los Angeles nabbed a first-period lead on Saturday before building and bubble wrapping it the rest of the way to edge the Wild 4-1 — a result that was indicative of the Kings’ stingy style but also the Wild playing their second game in 22 hours and not being as in-sync and sharp as they usually are.

They had a couple days to reset, including a practice on Monday to check out Delta Center in Salt Lake City where the Utah Hockey Club has relocated from Arizona for its inaugural season, and the Wild are getting healthier.

Jakub Lauko is ready to return after the winger missed six games with what he described as a muscle injury.

“Nothing serious, but it’s one where you need to take time to make sure it’s 100% because it could get worse or it could be longer,” said Lauko, who was acquired by the Wild in an offseason trade with Boston for Vinni Lettieri. “So, we took the time to get it proper, and I feel good on the ice now.”

Lauko has two goals and two assists and skated alongside Frederick Gaudreau and Yakov Trenin on the Wild’s third line.

The team also made a switch with its extra defenseman, sending David Jiricek to the minors and calling up Cameron Crotty to replace him.

Jiricek has yet to crack the lineup since the Wild added him in a trade from Columbus on Nov. 30. But after the onboarding process, which included getting a feel for the team and its expectations for practices and games, the Wild want him to get back in action; Jiricek’s last game was Nov. 29, and he’s logged just 10 games total between the American Hockey League and NHL.

“It was really good for him and self-admittedly that was nice,” coach John Hynes said. “But he wants to play, too, and it’s important for him to go down and play, work on some things that we want to see him execute, but get back into playing hockey.”

That outlook also applies to the Wild, who have embraced a business-like, forward-thinking attitude to have their victories outnumber their defeats.

“We enjoy [wins],” Hynes said. “We celebrate them, for sure. But I think when you lose, it’s not getting too low and everything’s not lost. I think it’s our job to have that demeanor with the team, but it’s also our job to take the things out of the game that are going to help us improve from that one either way: Reinforce the good, but also I think it’s important to turn the page quick to prepare for the next team.”

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Utah update: Utah is in the middle of the Central Division, continuing the strides the franchise started to make in Arizona before relocating. The team has won two in a row, sweeping its recent road trip to Buffalo and Philadelphia, and has just one regulation loss in its last six games. Utah has actually been better on the road, going 4-5-2 in its first season at Delta Center. LW Clayton Keller leads Utah in scoring with 24 points (seven goals and 17 assists). Blaine native and former Gopher Nick Bjugstad scored four goals, including a hat trick, vs. the Wild last season.

Injuries: Wild D Jonas Brodin (upper body), C Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body) and RW Mats Zuccarello (lower body) are out. Utah D Sean Durzi (shoulder), G Connor Ingram (upper body), D Maverick Lamoureux (upper body) and D John Marino (back) are out.