Wild Topple Canucks 6-2 With 3 Power-Play Goals
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Thomas Vanek scored one of Minnesota's three power-play goals and pitched in three assists, leading the Wild on a 6-2 romp over the road-weary Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
Mikko Koivu also scored and had three assists, Zach Parise added a goal and two assists and backup goalie Darcy Kuemper turned in another sharp performance for the Wild, who improved to 5-0-3 in their last eight games.
Ryan Miller had a rough time in the net for the Canucks, giving up six goals in two periods before being pulled at the second intermission, but he was peppered by 36 shots during a defense-deficient performance by his teammates.
Jason Zucker scored for Minnesota, too, giving the Koivu-centered first line with Vanek on the left wing a nine-point night.
Jannik Hansen and Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver and linemate Henrik Sedin assisted on each one, but the Canucks were dominated from start to finish and fell to 1-6-3 in their last 10 games away from home. Their only win in that stretch was at Minnesota on Nov. 25.
On the first two stops of this six-game road trip, the Canucks have been outscored 10-1. They are 2-5-2 in their last nine games overall.
Defensemen Ryan Suter and Marco Scandella tacked on the last two goals for the Wild in their largest output since a 6-3 victory over St. Louis here last March 21. The Wild raised their home record this season to 11-3-1.
Miller had his last name chanted derisively by the crowd and later was taunted with the "Sieve! Sieve! Sieve!" chant, but this was hardly his fault. With the man advantage early in the first period, Vanek was in perfect position to tap in Parise's pass that was so crisp he barely had to move for his team-high 11th goal.
Parise was the first of four Wild players who scored in the second frame, on his third attempt after Miller turned aside the first two tries. Without any defense near him in front of the right circle, Parise knocked in the bad-angle rebound past Miller's left pad.
It was a season high for goals allowed by the Canucks.
Since Devan Dubnyk has been out with a strained groin muscle, Kuemper is 3-0-2. He stopped 29 shots. The Wild have allowed just seven goals in seven games in December, which has recently been a rough month for them.
NOTES: Vanek is second in the NHL since entering the league in the 2005-06 season with 122 power-play goals, behind Washington's Alex Ovechkin. ... Vanek has five goals and nine assists in 12 career games against the Canucks. ... The last time the Wild had a player with four points in a game was Parise on Jan. 30, 2014, at Colorado. ... The Canucks fell to 2-5-2 against the Central Division. ... Daniel Sedin has seven goals and nine assists in his last 12 games. ... Koivu won 18 of 23 faceoffs. His last four-point game was on Jan. 2, 2011, against Arizona. ... The Wild, who entered the night ranked 24th in the NHL on the power play at 17.2 percent, went 3 for 5. ... In his last five games, Parise has three goals and five assists.
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