EDMONTON B次元官网网址� Jared Spurgeon scored twice for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks to start their qualifying series Sunday.
The Wild produced a pair of power-play goals and shut the door on Canucks shooters.
Spurgeon produced one of them, plus an empty-netter, and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Wild.
Minnesota starter Alex StalockB次元官网网址檚 first career playoff win was a 28-save shutout. Eric Staal assisted on a pair of Wild goals.
Minnesota outshot Vancouver 30-27, didnB次元官网网址檛 give up the middle lane to the Canucks and allowed Vancouver few clean entries over the WildB次元官网网址檚 blue-line.
The Canucks mustered just four shots on goal in the third period and none on a late power play.
Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Tuesday.
In the first playoff start of his nine-year career, VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Jacob MarkstromB次元官网网址檚 stopped 28 shots in the loss.
Matt Dumba raised his fist on the WildB次元官网网址檚 bench during both the Canadian and American national anthems Sunday.
The Regina defenceman, who is half-Filipino, explained earlier in the day he intends to do that for the rest of the NHLB次元官网网址檚 restart from the COVID-19 pandemic in homage to former Wild forward J.T. Brown.
Brown did the same during the B次元官网网址淪tar Spangled BannerB次元官网网址� in 2017 as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning to protest police brutality and racism.
With the NHLB次元官网网址檚 blessing, Dumba made a speech at Rogers Place centre ice stressing the need for social and racial justice prior to SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 game between the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Wild havenB次元官网网址檛 won a playoff series since 2015, which was also the last year the Canucks saw the post-season.
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Vancouver (36-27-6) was the seventh seed in the Western Conference, while Minnesota (35-27-7) was 10th.
Minnesota led halfway through the second period when Staal fed Spurgeon a cross-ice pass from the boards.
The defenceman from Edmonton whipped a low shot under both the left leg of a diving Alex Edler and MarkstromB次元官网网址檚 left pad.
Three seconds into an Edler tripping penalty, Fiala scored from the high slot at 2:50 of the first period.
Markstrom got a piece of FialaB次元官网网址檚 snapshot, but not enough as the puck trickled behind him.
PariseB次元官网网址檚 assist on FialaB次元官网网址檚 goal gave him the all-time franchise playoff record of 18. The 36-year-old Minnesotan also holds Wild playoff records in goals (14) and points (32).
"I think it was what I expected: high-intense game, a lot of hits and both teams were battling. Both teams want to win. Game 1 to Minnesota. IB次元官网网址檓 looking forward to Game 2." - Pettersson
B次元官网网址� Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks)
Vancouver squandered a chance to go on the power play late in the first period.
Markstrom was summoned to the bench on a pending holding penalty to Parise, but a sixth Canuck prematurely jumped in the ice to negate the man advantage.
MinnesotaB次元官网网址檚 power play went 2-for-4.
VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Micheal Ferland and MinnesotaB次元官网网址檚 Foligno fought less than two minutes after the opening faceoff.
Unlike Scotiabank Arena in TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Eastern Conference hub tournament, fake crowd noise isnB次元官网网址檛 pumped into EdmontonB次元官网网址檚 empty Rogers Place.
Expletives, exhortations to teammates and appeals to officials were clearly audible. One official responded B次元官网网址淗e knocked you down, you knocked him down.B次元官网网址�
THE CANADIAN PRESS
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