Mats Zuccarello, Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba each scored a goal to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night.
Minnesota spoiled Vancouver’s home opener, with the Canucks playing at home in front of a capacity crowd for the first time in nearly 600 days – which probably felt even longer after starting the season with six consecutive road games.
For the Wild, it was their fifth win in six games this season and a great start to a three-game road trip. Minnesota takes on the expansion Seattle Kraken Thursday night and then closes the trip with their first game against the high-powered Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.
The game was tight from start to finish, with Bo Horvat of the Canucks telling reporters after the game that “it felt like a playoff game out there.”
Cam Talbot improved to 5-0 for the Wild this season. The veteran netminder stopped 22 shots and was finally allowed to play with a lead. Zuccarello’s first-period goal was the first time this season the Wild scored first in a game.
“It feels great,” Talbot said. “We talked about never losing two in a row. Coming into a tough building in their home-opener, obviously they’re going to have some momentum from the crowd.
“We established our game early, got out to a lead, which we haven’t been able to do this year, so I think that set the tone for the rest of the game.”
