The Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild are set to go head-to-head in the NHL’s play-in round beginning on Saturday. What do fans need to know and what can they expect?
Game Times
Game 1: August 2nd at 7:30pm PST/10:30pm EST
Game 2: August 4th at 7:45pm PST/10:45 EST
Game 3: August 6th at TBD
Game 4: August 7th at TBD
Game 5: August 9th at TBD
*Games if needed*
Head-To-Head
During the 2020 season, the Vancouver Canucks and Wild met three times. The Wild won two of three games with the final going to a shootout at Rogers Arena. In their three games against one another, both teams netted a total of nine goals.
Overall, this season, Vancouver finished with 78 points while Minnesota finished with 77 points. Vancouver’s penalty kill percentage was 80.5, ranking them 16th in the league. On the other hand, Minnesota finished with 77.2, ranking them 25th. On the power play, Vancouver converted 24.2 percent of the time, this placing them fourth overall. On the other hand, the Wild converted 21.3 percent of power plays, finishing at 11th.
Players To Watch
Vancouver has many young stars in the making such as Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser. But the man to keep an eye on is American left-winger J.T. Miller. Miller was traded to Vancouver in the offseason and has fit right in, having made an instant impact. He led the team with 72 points in 68 games where scored 27 goals. In his last 10 games, he scored 13 points leading up to the pause. He also brings some much-needed physicality to the Canucks formation.
The Wild have one of the strongest defensive cores in the NHL, headlined by defensemen Ryan Suter. They also had two 20-goal scorers in Kevin Fiala and Zach Parise. But the player to keep an eye on is Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello ended the season hot with six points in five games, having racked up three goals.
Goaltending
The projected goaltending matchup is Jacob Markstrom for the Canucks and Alex Stalock on the other side for the Wild.
Markstrom was playing stronger than he ever has before suffering an injury. Having sustained it in February, it prevented him from completing the shortened season. Markstrom started 43 games, posting a 2.75 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage while winning 23 contests.
Stalock also had a strong campaign, starting 36 games and earning the in in 20 of them. He finished the season with a 2.67 goals-against average while adding a save percentage of .910.
Food For Thought
This series has the potential to be the best of the NHL qualifiers. Fans can expect the series to be a competitive one and go the distance. Although the Canucks and Wild are evenly matched when it comes to talent, expect Vancouver to have the upper hand with their 32 players who are mostly healthy. They are young, fast and talented and have the potential to go deep in the postseason.