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 The Canucks went 0-for-3 in the skills-competition tiebreaker,
losing to the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Tuesday.
"We (stink) in the shootout. We do," Canucks coach John Tortorella
said. "We've got to try different people I guess, because we stink
at it."
Minnesota got a goal late in regulation to tie Vancouver before
right winger Jason Pominville scored the only goal in a shootout,
lifting the Wild to the come-from-behind win.
The Wild (20-11-5) trailed 2-1 before center Charlie Coyle knotted
the game midway through the third. Left winger Zach Parise scored
Minnesota's first goal, and goaltender Josh Harding made 29 saves in
regulation and overtime as the Wild improved to 14-3-2 at home.
"Once we started to shoot the puck a little more in the third,
that's when we started to generate some offense off rebounds," said
Parise. "Teams scramble when you shoot the puck. When you keep it on
the perimeter it's pretty easy to defend. But once we started
shooting that's when we started to open it up."
Right winger Jannik Hansen and left winger David Booth scored for
the Canucks (20-10-6). Vancouver got 30 saves from goaltender
Roberto Luongo but lost for the first time in December, snapping a
seven-game winning streak.
Luongo hadn't started a game in Minnesota in more than three years,
and he was pulled from his previous three starts in the Wild's home
rink, allowing five goals or more each time. On Tuesday, he kept
Minnesota at bay for much of the game, including a frantic third
period in which the Wild outshot Vancouver 11-5.
"I don't care about that stuff. I wasn't worried about it coming
into the game, I just wanted to play," said Luongo, faulting himself
for not stopping Coyle's shot. "We played well as a team, I've just
got to make a save there."
The teams traded goals in a back-and-forth first period. Vancouver
got on the board first when Hansen scored his third goal in the past
four games, ripping a wrist shot that eluded Harding on the blocker
side at 8:46.
Minnesota answered on the power play exactly three minutes later. A
crisp passing play in front of Luongo ended when Parise shot from
the low circle behind the goalie. It was Parise's 15th goal of the
season, tying him for the team lead with Pominville.
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"Our guys dig deep," said Wild coach Mike Yeo, noting this
was the second game in a row that his team had rallied to win in
a shootout. "Two games in a row where we're down after two
periods where we come back and battle back to get a win."
The Canucks lost defenseman Ryan Stanton early in the second
period when he got locked up with Wild center Zenon Konopka.
Stanton was tripped up behind the Vancouver net and went hard
into the end boards. He got up favoring his left leg and headed
to the dressing room.
Konopka, who fought with Canucks right winger Dale Weise in the
first period, was given a minor penalty for tripping. That call
prompted a rain of boos from the crowd, which did not feel
Konopka tripped Stanton on the play. A heated argument ensued
between referee Tim Peel and Tortorella, who felt that Konopka
deserved a major penalty on the play.
"It shouldn't have been a minor. That's what I thought,"
Tortorella said, referencing Konopka's reputation as a goon.
"We're trying to get that play out of the game, and look at the
person who's doing it. I just thought it should've been more
than a minor."
Stanton did not return to the game.
NOTES: Wild RW Nino Niederreiter skated in his 100th career
game. In his first 64 games, played with the New York Islanders
over parts of two seasons, Niederreiter recorded two goals and
one assist. In his first 36 games with the Wild, the Swiss
national has six goals and 10 assists and is second on the team
in with 82 hits. ... Minnesota D Keith Ballard was playing his
first game against the Canucks since signing in his home state
over the summer. Ballard, who played college hockey at the
University of Minnesota, spent 148 games over three seasons with
the Canucks, including the team's run to Game 7 of the Stanley
Cup finals in 2011. ... Vancouver's three-game road trip
continues Thursday when the Canucks visit the Dallas Stars.
Minnesota also will be traveling, as the Wild play their next
four on the road, startingThursday when they face the Penguins
in Pittsburgh.
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