Wild 6, Canucks 2
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Goals were seemingly as plentiful as holiday lights for the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
Left winger Thomas Vanek scored once and added three assists as Minnesota blasted past the Vancouver Canucks 6-2 and the Wild improved to 5-0-3 in their past eight games with their largest offensive outburst of the season.
Right winger Zach Parise, left winger Jason Zucker, center Mikko Koivu and defensemen Ryan Suter and Marco Scandella all added goals for the Wild (16-7-6), who took an early lead and didn't let up. They got 29 saves from goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who was making his fourth consecutive start.
Right winger Jannik Hansen and left winger Daniel Sedin had the Vancouver goals. Center Henrik Sedin assisted on both.
Goalie Ryan Miller played the first two periods, stopping 30 of Minnesota's first 36 shots. Jacob Markstrom manned the Vancouver crease for the final 20 minutes and had five saves for the Canucks (11-13-8).
Minnesota turned the game's first power play into the first goal. After a cross-ice pass from right winger Jason Pominville, Parise was left alone in the high slot. Instead of shooting, he zipped a pass wide of the net to Vanek at the left of the crease. Vanek re-directed the pass behind Miller for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.
Zucker made it 2-0 for the Wild before the first period was done, taking a pass from Vanek and getting loose in front of Miller. Zucker's initial backhand shot was stopped, but he managed to pop in his own rebound. It was the first goal by Zucker in nearly a month.
Minnesota's second power play was just as effective as Parise got three shots on Miller without getting bothered by the Vancouver defense, and slid the third attempt through a small gap for his third goal in four games.
Vancouver answered a short time later, taking advantage of a misplay behind the Minnesota net. When Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon missed a pass and fell down, Henrik Sedin collected the loose puck and zipped a pass to Hansen at the left of the crease. Kuemper was still scrambling to get back in position when Hansen's shot hit the back of the net to make it 3-1.
Minnesota sapped any momentum the visitors had developed, getting goals from Koivu, Suter and Scandella for a 6-1 lead after 40 minutes. After Scandella scored on a shot from the blue line, he pointed to the arena's rafters in a salute to his father, Francesco, who passed away earlier this month.
NOTES: The Wild held a moment of silence before the game in tribute to Glen Sonmor, who died this week at 86. Sonmor coached the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA before leading the Minnesota North Stars to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1981. ... While Canucks D Chris Tanev entered the game with just one goal, he is thriving at keeping shots away from his team's goalies. Tanev entered Tuesday night's game among the top six in the NHL with 77 blocked shots. ... Minnesota claimed C Jarret Stoll off waivers from the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Stoll, who won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings, had played 29 games for New York after signing with the Rangers as a free agent over the summer and had one goal. He is expected to make his Wild debut on Thursday when the Rangers visit Minnesota. ... Vancouver, in the midst of a six-game road trip, visits the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday.