Minnesota 6, Vancouver 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 15, 2018
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, Brad Watson
Linesmen:
Greg Devorski, Kiel Murchison
Attendance:
19014
By Field Level Media
Mikko Koivu had a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild cruised to a 6-2 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.
Charlie Coyle, Eric Staal, Nino Niederreiter, Matt Dumba and Jason Zucker also scored in the victory. Minnesota avenged a loss last month to Vancouver and earned at least one point for the eighth time in nine home games.
Bo Horvat and Markus Granlund scored for Vancouver, which lost in regulation for the third straight game.
Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves to improve to 9-4-2. He started in net despite feeling sore after a collision with Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson two nights earlier.
Canucks goaltender Richard Bachman allowed six goals on 29 shots to fall to 2-4-0. The 31-year-old Utah native was making a rare start in place of No. 1 netminder Jacob Markstrom, who rested for the final installment of a six-game road trip.
Koivu posted his fifth multi-point performance of the season and the 149th of his career. The 35-year-old Finn notched his 197th career goal, climbing closer to Marian Gaborik (219) in seeking to become the second player in franchise history to reach 200 goals.
The Wild jumped to a 2-0 lead after the first period behind goals from Coyle and Koivu. Coyle scored on a breakaway as he sprinted to retrieve a long pass from Jonas Brodin and punched in a backhand shot for his third goal of the season.
Minnesota increased its lead to 5-1 at the end of the second period thanks to goals from Niederreiter, Staal and Dumba. Niederreiter scored on the power play as he redirected a pass from Koivu for his second goal in 19 games.
Horvat put Vancouver on the scoreboard with a power-play goal that hit Dubnyk and trickled past the goal line. It was his 10th goal, which tied him with Elias Pettersson for the team lead.
The Wild increased their lead to 6-1 on Zucker's sixth goal at 5:27 of the third period.
Twenty-six seconds later, Granlund finished the scoring as he went to the front of the net and knocked in a loose puck. His older brother, Mikael, watched from the ice as the play unfolded.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Vancouver |
|
Minnesota |
|
Markus Granlund 1 |
Points |
Mikko Koivu 3 |
|
Markus Granlund 1 |
Goals |
Mikko Koivu 1 |
|
Darren Archibald 1 |
Assists |
Mikko Koivu 2 |
|
Bo Horvat 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Mikko Koivu 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Richard Bachman .793 |
Save Percentage |
Devan Dubnyk .926 |
|
Richard Bachman 23 |
Saves |
Devan Dubnyk 25 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Vancouver
|
27 |
2 |
1-6 |
0-2 |
4 |
29 |
| Minnesota
|
29 |
6 |
2-2 |
5-6 |
12 |
40 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Wild have a W/L % of .636 after a win and .625 after a loss.
-
Vancouver will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Canucks have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .545 after a loss.
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