Wild at Canucks
The Minnesota Wild turn to John Torchetti to help right the ship as they begin a three-game road trip Monday against the Vancouver Canucks. Minnesota fired coach Mike Yeo following its eighth consecutive loss on Saturday and replaced him on an interim basis with Torchetti, who has posted a 15-19-1 record with four ties in similar stints with Florida in 2003-04 and Los Angeles in 2005-06.
Despite having lost 13 of their last 14 contests, the Wild are only five points behind Nashville for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Minnesota is even in points with Arizona and Vancouver, which enters Monday's matchup with four straight losses on home ice. The Canucks are expected to start Jacob Markstrom, who has won each of his last four starts - including the club's last home triumph on Jan. 11 against Florida. The Wild and Canucks split the first two contests of the three-game season series, both of which were played in Minnesota.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN North, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota), Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE WILD (23-22-10): Minnesota hopes to have Jared Spurgeon back in the lineup Monday, as the defenseman has missed three straight games with a "deep bruise" in an undisclosed area. All-Star Devan Dubnyk, who is 0-8-1 since recording his last victory on Jan. 9, is expected to start against Vancouver. Thomas Vanek is riding a point streak that reached three games with his goal in Saturday's loss to Boston, which ended his 10-game drought.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (22-21-12): Daniel Sedin, who leads the club with 22 tallies and 45 points, ended his six-game goal-scoring drought in Saturday's loss to Toronto. The All-Star had scored in only two of his previous 14 contests, with both being two-goal performances. Vancouver could be without Bo Horvat as the center missed Sunday's practice with a foot injury he suffered while blocking a shot the previous day.
OVERTIME
1. Canucks D Dan Hamhuis, who has appeared in four games since returning from facial fractures he suffered on Dec. 9, sat out practice on Sunday for unknown reasons.
2. Minnesota LW Zach Parise leads the team with 17 goals but is mired in an eight-game drought and has scored just once in his last 13 contests.
3. Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin is the franchise leader in games played (1,141) after passing Trevor Linden on Saturday.