The Wild has activated left wing Zach Parise off injured reserve, an indication he will return today when the Wild hosts the Winnipeg Jets at 4 p.m. Defenseman Jonas Brodin was placed on IR to make room on the roster.

Parise, the Wild's leading scorer with 10 points, has missed five games with a concussion.

Coach Mike Yeo will be available before the game, but he said last night there's a good chance Niklas Backstrom makes his first home start since January. Backstrom stopped 25 shots in a win at home against Buffalo on Thursday after replacing Darcy Kuemper.

For today's Wild coverage, please go to www.startribune.com/wild. There's the game story, a notebook, preview box for today's game and my Sunday column on the cap recapture punishment the Wild may one day be facing if Parise and/or Ryan Suter retire prematurely.