UPDATE: Mikael Granlund is sick and will not play tonight vs Nashville. Justin Fontaine will take his place in the lineup. Charlie Coyle will play with Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek on the top line with Granlund as a late scratch.

It's official: Matt Cooke will rejoin the Wild lineup for tonight's game against Nashville at Xcel Energy Center, after missing 22 games because of a hip flexor injury. Ryan Carter will be back, too, healed from the shoulder injury that cost him three games. Darcy Kuemper, who missed his last start because of a stomach bug, will get the start in goal tonight.

The return of Cooke and Carter means the Wild has a completely healthy forward corps for the first time in weeks. Justin Fontaine, who hasn't registered a point in his past five games, will be scratched. Stu Bickel and defenseman Justin Falk also will sit out.

Cooke last played Oct. 28 at Boston. He said he's looking forward to everything, including the pregame meal. Coach Mike Yeo is excited to have Cooke and Carter back, too, with the Wild looking to play with more physicality and pressure against a Central Division foe that is 8-3 over its past 11 games.

"They bring something different to the table, something I think we've missed a little bit," Yeo said. "Just the board work, the presence on the forecheck, the finishing checks and making us a team that's not fun to play against. These are things that will be valuable to us."

Yeo did note that Cooke and Carter will have to be diligent early in the game as they shake off the rust. And with their return, other forwards will have to adapt to some shifting of roles. But he thinks Cooke's leadership and experience can help "refocus" the Wild and settle it down when necessary, a quality Yeo said the team has particularly missed over the past month.

Nashville will be without winger James Neal, who is sick and didn't make the trip. (No, it's not the mumps.) That's a significant loss. Neal is second on the team in goals (11) and third in points (19), and he had two goals and three assists in his past six games. He's also among the league's most prolific shooters, with 106 shots on goal.

Yeo has been touting the importance of this game for two days. The Wild has not won consecutive games for a month, and after the players admitted their frustration at failing to gain any ground, they need a home victory against a strong Central Division rival to get their minds right. A loss would give them a three-game winless streak and prolong that funk.

"We recognize this is a big game," he said. "We don't need guys going out there trying to be heroes. We need guys going out there doing their jobs. When we have 20 guys doing that, then we like where we're at."