Vancouver @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2020 ) Vancouver 4, Minnesota 1

No matter the result, the Vancouver Canucks will finish off a successful five-game road trip Thursday when they visit the Minnesota Wild. The Pacific Division-leading Canucks are 2-1-1 since they last played at home and saw their six-game point streak end Tuesday with a 4-0 setback at Boston.

Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom kept his team in the game by making 38 saves Tuesday but the Canucks struggled to generate any scoring chances - including on the man advantage where they were 0-for-3 on Tuesday and are 4-for-44 over their last 13 games. “We’re not getting momentum on the power play. It’s frustrating,” Canucks forward J.T. Miller told reporters after seeing his six-game point streak end against the Bruins. “In a game like that, a power-play goal makes a big difference. They won more battles than us tonight.” The Wild bounced back from a 6-1 blowout loss to Boston Saturday with a 3-2 overtime victory Tuesday against Chicago, thanks in part to defenseman Matt Dumba snapping a 33-game goal scoring drought with his game winner in the extra frame. “They know how hard he’s been pressing for a couple months now,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters regarding Dumba, who leads the team with 129 shots but is tied for 15th with four goals. “To see it go in, in overtime to boot, was probably a just reward for all the ones that have almost gone in.”

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: FS North, FS Wisconsin, Sportsnet Pacific

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (30-19-5): Two of the team’s top offensive producers have gone cold on the power play as Miller hasn’t netted a goal on the man advantage since Dec. 21 while 22-year-old sniper Brock Boeser is without one since Nov. 21. Elias Pettersson has only found the back of the net five times since the beginning of January but still leads the squad with 23 goals and 55 points while also carrying a team-best plus-12 rating. Defenseman Quinn Hughes is trying to give Vancouver the Calder Trophy winner in consecutive years as the 20-year-old leads all NHL rookies in assists (31), points (39) and power-play points (18).

ABOUT THE WILD (24-22-6): Kevin Fiala registered his eighth career multi-goal game Tuesday as the right winger had both markers for Minnesota during regulation while ending a scoring drought that saw him tally one goal over his previous 17 games. Goaltender Devin Dubnyk is expected to man the crease Thursday and is 1-3-0 with a .849 save percentage and 4.56 goals against average over his last four starts - including allowing three goals on 29 shots during a 4-1 setback against the Canucks on Jan. 12. The Wild have relied heavily on a trio of 35-year-old’s as Zach Parise has a team-high 19 goals, Eric Staal leads the squad with 39 points while Ryan Suter is second on the team with 36 points - 12th among NHL defensemen.

OVERTIME

1. Dumba’s overtime goal Tuesday was the fifth of his career - tying Brent Burns and Mikko Koivu for the franchise record.

2. Canucks C Bo Horvat scored a pair of goals in the team’s last meeting against the Wild, but has two goals and two assists in eight games since - zero in his last three.

3. After allowing three power-play goals to the Bruins, the Wild’s 30th-ranked penalty kill (74 percent) held Chicago without a goal on the man advantage Tuesday in three opportunities.

PREDICTION: Canucks 5, Wild 3