Wild players wanted a stiffer penalty for Zach L’Heureux from the NHL but say they're happy to take matters into their own hands Saturday.

It was a tale of two games for the Minnesota Wild’s defenders. Minnesota was down Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin against the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, Brock Faber returned from his upper-body injury against Nashville.

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.

Marc-Andre Fleury came to Las Vegas and got in on the ground ... prior to their 3-1 win in San Jose on Saturday. He added that team captain Jared Spurgeon has begun “hard physical activity off the ice” as he works to return from a lower-body injury ...

Marc-Andre Fleury had 36 saves for the Wild in the latest entry of his rollercoaster week. On Tuesday, he came on in relief of Filip Gustavsson in a come-from-behind win over St. Louis. Two nights later, Fleury was so floored by an illness that he could only stay on the team bench for two periods as Gustavsson played, and lost, versus Colorado.

Matt Boldy's power-play goal 2 minutes, 28 seconds into the third period cut it back down to a two-goal game, but Forsberg scored his second of the night unassisted 16 minutes, 20 seconds into the frame, and Brady Skjei scored an empty-netter with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on a Predators victory.

Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek smiled when asked about two of his longtime teammates returning from injuries this week. One of the players, Kirill Kaprizov, is the leading scorer on the Wild.

Nashville took over after the rough stuff, led by veteran scorer Filip Forsberg (two goals and assist), captain Roman Josi (two assists) and goaltender Juuse Saros (27 saves), as the Predators continue their second-half reclamation under coach and former Wild player Andrew Brunette.

Yakov Trenin and Brock Faber scored goals 1:35 apart early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in Denver on Monday.

Nashville (15-22-7, 37 points) beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday, clinching the win with a 3-for-3 shootout performance from Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O'Reilly, and Steven Stamkos. It was the Predators' first appearance in a shootout this season.

Yakov Trenin scored against his former team early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday.

After L'Heureux slew-footed Jared Spurgeon, sidelining the Wild captain, payback was expected in the rematch — and it came early.