Read the reports from Saturday’s NHL games.
Mats Zuccarello decides the shootout debate for the Wild
Mats Zuccarello scored in a shootout and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Saturday.
Quebecer Frédérick Gaudreau scored in regulation and Filip Gustavsson made 35 saves for the Wild, who have won three games in a row. The team is 7-2-0 since the arrival of head coach John Hynes.
Teddy Blueger found the back of the net for the Canucks. Casey DeSmith stopped 30 pucks. It was the first defeat in five games for the British Columbia team.
DeSmith was playing in his first game since stopping 26 shots in a 2-0 win over the Wild on December 7. The goalie boasted a 5-0 record, a 1.78 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage against the Wild before this duel.
Gaudreau scored his second goal of the campaign in the first period. Pat Maroon collected his 300e career assist mention on the sequence.
The Wild had to make do without captain Jared Spurgeon, with a lower body injury, for a second consecutive game.
Brian Hall, Associated Press