VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Mikael Granlund got his first career hat trick, helping the Minnesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-3 on Saturday night.
Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Mike Reilly also scored for the Western Conference-leading Wild, who bounced back after a 5-1 loss in Calgary on Wednesday. Devan Dubnyk made 24 saves.
Brandon Sutter had two goals and Bo Horvat also scored for the Canucks, who have lost three straight heading into a six-game road swing. Vancouver is five points back of the Flames for the final wild-card spot in the West.
Canucks goalie Ryan Miller made 33 saves.
In a tight-checking first period, the Wild broke through at 13:01 when Reilly blasted a shot from the faceoff circle that eluded Miller. It was Reilly's first of the season.
Jannik Hansen helped the Canucks respond by driving into the slot with three defenders on him before Sutter grabbed the loose puck and swatted it in. It was the first game back for Hansen, who had missed 17 games with a knee injury.
With 24 seconds to go in the period, Granlund was left alone at the side of the Canucks' net and banged in an easy rebound to make it 2-1. Granlund is the older brother of Canucks forward Markus Granlund.
The Canucks had a power-play chance in the second, but just 11 seconds into the man advantage, Granlund stole the puck and wheeled down the ice to beat Miller short-handed.
Horvat cut the lead when he ripped a shot over Dubnyk's shoulder off a 2-on-1 to make it 3-2 at 8:36.
Parise tipped Jared Spurgeon's shot from the point 54 seconds later to restore the two-goal lead.
Before the second intermission, Granlund dished to Koivu for his 16th of the season, then Sutter smacked a rebound out of the air while on the power play for his second of the night to make it 5-3.
Granlund completed his hat trick midway through the third. Canucks defenseman Philip Larsen made an ill-fated clearing attempt in front of the net and it found its way back into Vancouver's goal. Granlund got the credit.
NOTES: The Canucks held a pre-game ceremony to honor captain Henrik Sedin and his recent 1,000th NHL point. ... Wild forward Alex Tuch made his NHL debut playing on Minnesota's top line. He was called up Thursday from the AHL.
UP NEXT
Wild: Play at Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
Canucks: Play at Nashville on Tuesday night.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com
Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman.gdk.mx/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman.gdk.mx/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html
No comments:
Post a Comment