Canucks Lose 3–2 In Overtime In Hard-Hitting Match With The Wild

In a game with heavy Western Conference wild card implications, the Vancouver Canucks lost 3–2 to the Minnesota Wild in overtime. Marcus Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk scored for Vancouver, while Brock Faber, Marcus Foligno, and Mats Zuccarello added tallies for the Wild. Kevin Lankinen started the game for Vancouver, stopping 30 of 33 shots against. 

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This match was another low-shot affair for the Canucks, as the team only put up 14 shots by the end of the game. As a result, Lankinen was busy tonight, stopping all 12 of Minnesota’s shots in the first period. Tonight was his second consecutive start, as he also played on Thursday night in the team’s 4–1 win against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite a rough stretch towards the middle of March, Lankinen has since bounced back. In his past three starts, he has made 93 saves on 100 shots against, posting a .930 SV%. 

Abbotsford Canucks rookie Ty Mueller made his NHL debut tonight, playing 10:56 and registering a shot and two blocks. The call-up came after Max Sasson was taken out of the lineup due to injury. While he did take a holding penalty, Mueller got a decent amount of offensive chances and performed well in the faceoff dot. During the game, it was also announced that Mueller was named Abbotsford’s “Unsung Hero” for the 2024–25 season. He was not the only Abbotsford player to get his first taste of NHL hockey tonight, as goaltending prospect Nikita Tolopilo backed Lankinen up tonight. 

The Canucks dominated the faceoff dot tonight, winning 57.9% of the draws against the Wild. Three players finished the game with a faceoff win percentage of over 50%, with Teddy Blueger winning seven of 10, Aatu Räty winning nine of 17, and Pius Suter winning 14 of 22. Mueller finished his first game with a winning percentage of 42.9%. 

Tonight was the second night in a row that the Canucks had a fight, as Derek Forbort and Yakov Trenin traded blows five minutes into the third period. After the referees tried to break the scrap up, Trenin snuck an extra punch in on Forbort, leaving the Canucks defenseman bleeding from the head. The Wild forward was eventually tossed from the game, though not without objection. The fight came as a result of a hit that Trenin delivered on Canucks Captain Quinn Hughes. 

“I don’t know what he was doing, the circus act after getting kicked out, but I think obviously, there’s got to be a level of respect,” Hughes said of Trenin’s tantrum, also specifying that he hadn’t seen the hit.  

“One of the dirtiest things I’ve ever seen,” Pettersson, the opening goal scorer, added of Trenin’s extra punch. Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet agreed, mentioning that he had no update on Forbort’s status. 

Regarding the team's effort tonight, Tocchet explained that their play is a work in progress. "I cannot be mad at our team at all. So this is not a time to evaluate why we lost this game. I will tell you, we have to learn how to play under pressure. I don't care who it is, we have to continue to work on that. We will continue work on that." 

This was Vancouver’s first time playing the Wild since they indirectly eliminated the Canucks from playoff contention with an 8–7 win against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. Ironically enough, tonight’s game had high playoff implications for Minnesota, as a win combined with a win from the St. Louis Blues would  have helped them clinch a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, the Blues fell 4–3 to the Seattle Kraken in a shootout, allowing the Calgary Flames a very slim chance at grabbing a spot. Despite thoughts that retiring goaltender Marc-André Fleury could start tonight, Filip Gustavsson got the net. This game marked Fleury’s final visit to Vancouver.

Stats and Facts: 

Scoring Summary: 

1st Period: 

3:11 - VAN: Marcus Pettersson (4) from Linus Karlsson and Teddy Blueger

2nd Period: 

13:08 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (27) from Nils Höglander and Quinn Hughes (PPG) 

3rd Period: 

0:22 - MIN: Brock Faber (10) from Matt Boldy 

13:14 - MIN: Marcus Foligno (14) from Ryan Hartman and Justin Brazeau 

Overtime: 

2:47 - MIN: Mats Zuccarello (19) from Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber

Up Next: 

For their second last game of the season, the Canucks will take on the Sharks. San Jose has had impressive performances from rookies Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith as of late, with both players combining for 10 points in the past two games played. Puck drop for this game is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. 

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