Canucks, Wild Combine for 17 Goals, Accomplish NHL Feat Unseen in 32 Years

It was goals galore during Monday’s Presidents Day tilt between the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild, with the two sides combining for a whopping 17 goals during the Wild’s 10–7 victory.

Quality goaltending was hard to come by on Monday afternoon, as the 17 goals were netted from just 49 combined shot attempts. In fact, three players finished the game with hat tricks, the first time that feat has been accomplished during an NHL game in 32 years.

Minnesota’s forward tandem of Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek each scored three goals in the win, and both players finished the game with six points, adding three assists, too. Meanwhile, Canucks star J.T. Miller added three goals of his own.

The last time a game saw three different players record hat tricks was back in 1992 in a matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks when Luc Robitalle, Jari Kurri, and Mike Donnelly each achieved the scoring coup, per Josh Dubow of AP Sports. 

The Wild made a goaltending change after Filip Gustavsson surrendered five goals on 16 shot attempts, bringing in veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in his stead, who allowed two pucks to go by him on eight shots. 

As for Vancouver, they stuck by Casey DeSmith throughout the game, and he surrendered eight goals on 25 shots, with Minnesota’s final two tallies being scored on an empty net. Kaprizov completed his hat trick–the fourth of his career and second in the past month–and scored the Wild’s 10th goal of the game with just two seconds left in regulation.