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Canucks Game Day: After wild win over Avs, Canucks move on to face Quinn Hughes and the Wild
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Photo credit: © Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Apr 2, 2026, 13:32 EDT
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The Vancouver Canucks (22-44-8) shoot for consecutive victories for the first time in 2026 when they wrap up a four-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild (41-21-12) at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, MN. Tonight’s game starts at 5pm PT . It’s the first meeting between the Canucks and Wild since the teams hooked up on their December 12th blockbuster trade that sent Quinn Hughes to Minnesota for Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, Zeev Buium and a first round draft pick.

What we know

It will be fascinating to see what the Canucks do for an encore after their shocking 8-6 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The club did not hold a morning skate, so it will be closer to game time before tonight’s line-up is revealed. Nikita Tolopilo is expected to get the start in goal, but it’s unclear at this stage whether Adam Foote will make any changes to the 18 skaters that produced the team’s win of the season last night in Denver.
Tolopilo allowed four goals on 11 shots before he was pulled in a 7-3 loss in Calgary on Saturday. That is his only game action over the past two and a half weeks. Tonight he’ll be asked to backstop a team playing on consecutive nights and finishing up a stretch of four games in six nights.
If the Canucks want fresh legs, centre Ty Mueller was recalled from AHL Abbotsford yesterday and could make his season debut. Evander Kane scored in his 1000th NHL game on Monday in Las Vegas but is battling a nagging injury that kept him out of the line-up last night. It’s unclear whether he’s an option to return tonight. And Victor Mancini was a healthy scratch against the Avalanche and could be inserted on defence.
Last night, Brock Boeser had a hat trick and added an assist. The Burnsville, MN native now has nine goals in his last 14 games, a dozen goals in his last 23 games and leads the club with 21 goals. This is the seventh time in nine NHL seasons that Boeser has reached the 20-goal mark. Teddy Blueger had a pair of goals while Jake DeBrusk, Max Sasson and Marcus Pettersson had the other Vancouver goals. Pettersson’s goal broke a 6-6 tie and stood as the game-winner. It was just his second goal of the season and his first against a goaltender. He had earlier scored into an empty net in a 6-2 win in Tampa Bay in mid-November.
The eight goals were a season high for the Canucks and the win snapped a six-game losing skid.
Marco Rossi had two assists last night and now has 3+9=12 in his last 10 games and has 5+12=17 in 25 games with the Canucks. Liam Öhgren has 8+8=16 in 43 games since the trade while Zeev Buium has 2+8=10 in 37 games with Vancouver.
The Canucks went one for three with the man-advantage last night and since the middle of March have the second best power play in the league. Over their last eight games, the Canucks are eight for 21 with the man-advantage (38.1%).
Aatu Räty has five of his 13 points this season in two games against the Wild (2+3=5).

The Opponent

The Wild has been idle since a 6-3 loss in Boston on Sunday. Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman scored the Minnesota goals. For Kaprizov, that was his team-leading 39th goal of the season. He also leads the hockey club with 81 points while Matt Boldy is close behind with 38 goals and 76 points. 
As expected, Quinn Hughes has been highly productive in his new surroundings. Hughes has four goals and 49 points in 42 games since the trade. On the season, he has 72 points and sits fifth among all NHL defencemen. Hughes is headed for the second-best offensive season of his career. He had 92 points in 2023-24 the year he won the Norris Trophy. He has also had a pair of 76-point seasons.
With all its firepower, Minnesota has the third-best power play in the NHL, operating at 25.0%. Kaprizov has 16 of the team’s 60 power play goals while Boldy has 11.
Minnesota sits third in the Central Division six points behind Dallas with a game in hand. Those teams have one head to head meeting remaining on April 9th in the Lone Star State. The Wild has scuffled of late winning just three of its last nine games (3-5-1).
The Wild is 20-10-8 through 38 home games this season. The club has won eight straight on home ice against Vancouver and is 16-5 in its last 21 overall against the Canucks.
Filip Gustavsson gets the start in goal tonight. He is 26-13-6 this season with a 2..57 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He has dropped his last two outings.

News and notes

The Canucks and Wild have split their two meetings this season with each winning on home ice. Minnesota posted a 5-2 win on November 1st while Vancouver responded with a 4-2 victory on December 6th.
The referees for tonight’s game are Mitch Dunning and Corey Syvret.
Don’t forget to join Rink Wide Vancouver for full postgame coverage after this game – and every game. The livestream starts moments after the final buzzer. Rink Wide is the place for full postgame analysis and discussion. Contribute to the live YouTube conversation with your thoughts on the game and support our charity partner – the BC Mental Health Foundation – with a Superchat. 
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