Canucks Suffer 5-2 Loss To The Minnesota Wild In First Game Against Quinn Hughes

The Vancouver Canucks took on Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild for the first time since their trade in December, losing by a score of 5-2. Tom Willander and Jake DeBrusk scored Vancouver’s two goals of the game, while Nikita Tolopilo stopped 32 of 34 shots faced in his 14th start of the season. Tonight, all eyes were on the four pieces involved in Vancouver and Minnesota’s blockbuster deal.

It was former Wild forward Liam Öhgren who made the biggest impression at the beginning of the game tonight, putting his trademark forecheck to work on a Vancouver penalty kill to break the puck back out into the O-zone and even drawing a penalty for his efforts. The Canucks took a 2–1 lead off the ensuing power play. Tolopilo has had a rough go in his most recent starts, though that was not the case tonight.

The goaltender stepped up big-time for Vancouver when Minnesota began to press during the first period. He also made a couple of grade-A saves on Quinn Hughes — one moments after Minnesota’s second goal of the game and another off a breakaway after the defenceman exited the penalty box. After scoring three goals and putting up an assist the night before, Brock Boeser continued his stretch of success by producing some solid scoring chances in the first period.

Not only did he manage to get a chance in on Filip Gustavsson all alone off the rush, he also created a strong rebound chance from the right of the Minnesota goaltender. Turnovers were an issue for the Canucks tonight, as three of Minnesota’s goals came about after Vancouver’s defencemen were unable to properly get the puck off their sticks. Pierre-Olivier Joseph was unable to clear it on the first goal, while a giveaway by Zeev Buium gave Matt Boldy his second goal of the game.