The Vancouver Canucks are at the point in the season where every loss could end their playoff hopes. Those hopes are still alive after a big road win over Minnesota.
The NHL suspended Vancouver coach John Tortorella without pay for 15 days on Monday for his conduct after a brawl between the Canucks and the Calgary Flames.
Jason Pominville slipped a shot past Roberto Luongo’s glove in the third round of a shootout to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday, ending the Canucks’ winning streak at seven games.
Thanks to considerable help from Niklas Backstrom, the new-look Minnesota Wild continue to show that they're for real. Backstrom made 35 saves as Minnesota took sole possession of the Northwest Division lead by defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Monday night.
Zach Parise cautioned against reading too much into the Minnesota Wild’s 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night. The Wild moved into a first-place tie with their Northwest Division rivals, and recorded their fifth straight game with a point.