If the Vancouver Canucks believed that Monday’s matinee against the Minnesota Wild would be a nice way to rebound after a lacklustre showing on Saturday, they were dead wrong.
Nursing a 5-3 lead heading into the final frame and, to that point, never trailing through 40 minutes of hockey, it was the Canucks’ game to lose. They had been undisciplined for the majority of the game, taking six minor penalties in the first two periods, but up until that point, they had been able to mitigate the damage.
Then, the floodgates opened.
Starting the period with a two-man advantage, the Wild were able to capitalize right away as Joel Eriksson Ek potted his second of the game. Then, on yet another two-man advantage, Kirill Kaprizov tied the game at 5-5, and brought the Wild’s total to three 5-on-3 goals in the contest.
Eriksson Ek capped the hat trick quickly thereafter and, in the blink of an eye, the Canucks’ 5-3 lead was erased in a matter of two minutes.
But the Canucks just couldn’t stop the bleeding and just three minutes later, the Wild scored two more in succession — a deflection off Marco Rossi and a Kaprizov tap-in from the slot.
Goals from Nikita Zadorov and Brock Boeser pulled the Canucks to within one, but the damage was already done. Two empty-net goals — one for Eriksson Ek for his fourth and one for Kaprizov — sealed the 10-7 win for the Wild, with their 10 markers setting a franchise record for goals in a game.
Monday afternoon’s contest featured three hat tricks for the first time since 1992, as J.T. Miller, Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov both netted three or more.
In total, the Canucks allowed seven goals on 10 shots in the third period, marking the first time they have allowed more than six goals against this season. Four of the 10 goals for the Wild came with the man advantage.
Head coach Rick Tocchet wasn’t pleased with his teams undisciplined effort for the second game in a row.
“It’s actually stupid stick penalties you can’t do, and we’ve got to learn,” Tocchet said. “When you play under pressure, you cannot do those things.”
The Canucks will look to immediately bounce back from this poor showing when they take on the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, starting at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.