Vancouver survived a red hot start by the visitors to end Minnesota’s four-game winning streak and hand John Hynes his first loss as coach of the Wild with a 2-0 win.
Minnesota held the highest scoring team in the league without a shot through the opening 13 minutes of the game, outshooting the Canucks 10-0 in that frame. Despite the complete dominance, the Wild were unable to find a way to get the puck past Vancouver’s Casey DeSmith.
Vancouver didn’t need a lot of chances, scoring on their fourth shot. Nils Hoglander scored his second goal of the season using Brock Faber to screen his own goaltender on a 3-on-2 fastbreak.
The Canucks tipped the ice back in their favor throughout a scoreless second period and into the third period.
Just 2:04 into the final period Vancouver’s Teddy Blueger got behind the Wild defense and deked Gustavsson out of his skates to double the Canucks’ lead.
Minnesota were stuffed 26 times by DeSmith in the shutout loss as their streak came to an end.
The Wild’s Canadian road trip continues Friday night in Edmonton with puck drop set for 8 p.m.
TOUGH FINISH, TEDDY 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/seSDxrrd9b
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 8, 2023
