Kevin Fiala scores 2, playoff-bound Wild beat Canucks 6-3

Kevin Fiala scored twice, together with the go-ahead aim within the third interval, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-3 on Thursday night time.

The Wild ensured they are going to end both second or third within the Central Division and locked in a first-round playoff matchup with St. Louis, which is 2 factors behind within the standings. Minnesota misplaced all three video games in opposition to the Blues this season, together with two in extra time.

“We haven’t performed (St. Louis) in right here but. We’re very robust right here,” Fiala stated. “I’ve very a lot perception that we’re robust at residence. And we now have confirmed that, so it’s going to be a great sequence.”

Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello every had a aim and two assists for the Wild, who additionally obtained targets from Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Hartman.

Elias Pettersson scored twice for the Canucks and Matthew Highmore had Vancouver’s different aim.

Minnesota’s Cam Talbot stopped 21 photographs, together with a giant pad save late within the first interval to maintain the sport scoreless, and earned his 2 hundredth profession win.

“The street that I took, the perseverance, the dedication, quite a bit went into making it this far,” stated Talbot, who’s in his second season with the Wild. “The largest half tonight was the massive two factors for our group.”

Thatcher Demko stopped 25 photographs for Vancouver.

Fiala’s second aim of the night time and thirty second of the season broke a 3-3 tie with 7:43 remaining within the third interval. The ahead circled the zone and skated from behind the online, firing a wrap-around shot that beat Demko.

Fiala has 16 factors throughout his present eight-game level streak.

“He is taking part in proper, that is for positive,” Wild coach Dean Evason stated. “I suppose it’s one factor to be on a heater the place you are individually scoring targets, however you continue to need to do a variety of issues to permit your group to have success, and he’s doing a variety of these as nicely.”

A scoreless first interval was adopted by a flurry of exercise within the six-goal second. Fiala opened the scoring at 4:53. Pettersson tied it lower than a minute later.

The groups once more traded targets a bit later within the first. Spurgeon fired a shot that discovered its means by means of site visitors to place Minnesota up 2-1. Highmore then capitalized on a turnover by Spurgeon and beat Talbot to tie it.

Vancouver took its first lead on Pettersson’s second aim of the night time and thirty first of the season. He rebounded a shot by Conor Garland and snuck it previous Talbot.

Zuccarello tied the sport 2 1/2 minutes later as he took a cross from Kaprizov and beat Demko. Kaprizov’s help got here after the star ahead took a giant hit from Luke Schenn earlier within the interval.

“I believed their third aim was slightly little bit of a backbreaker,” Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau stated. “If we get into the third interval with a lead, we not less than often get some extent out of it. That harm slightly bit.”

Kapirzov scored late within the third, his forty fourth aim of the season. Hartman added an empty-netter, his thirty second.

NOTES: Pettersson grew to become the third Canucks participant with 30 targets this season, becoming a member of Bo Horvat (31) and J.T. Miller (30). It’s the primary time since 1995-96 that three Vancouver gamers topped 30. … Wild defenseman Dmitry Kulikov performed in his 800th sport. The 31-year-old has 23 factors in 75 video games this season. … Spurgeon has 39 factors, a profession excessive.

UP NEXT

Canucks: At Calgary on Saturday.

Wild: Host Seattle on Friday.