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The Minnesota Wild lost their third-straight on Thursday night to the Vancouver Canucks.
Mikko Koivu has been out of the Minnesota Wild lineup for quite awhile, but the team's captain is expected to return to action on Thursday night. The team's lone NHL All-Star selection missed a total of eight games.
Koivu is expected to be in the lineup when the Wild play the Vancouver Canucks, according to a report at 1500 ESPN.
Koivu, the Wild's captain, suffered a shoulder injury on Jan. 14 at St. Louis and missed eight games. Koivu, who was elected to the All-Star Game but could not play because of the injury, is second on the Wild with 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) and has a plus-9 rating in 41 games.
It'll be interesting to see whether he's effective in the game considering he sat out for nearly an entire month, but it shouldn't be that much of a problem considering he's been skating for about a week as he got closer to returning.
For more on the Minnesota Wild, check out Hockey Wilderness. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NHL hub at SBNation.com/NHL.
Minnesota will play host to Vancouver Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.
The Canucks have dropped two in a row, including Thursday's 3-1 loss at league-worst Columbus. The Canucks, meanwhile, roll in having won five of their last six games, the only loss coming to league-leading Detroit.
Vancouver has one of the league’s most dangerous offenses. The Canucks are third in goals per game (3.13) and first in power play percentage (22.7).
The Sedin brothers, Henrik and Daniel, power the Vancouver attack. Henrik is first in the league in assists and fifth points, while Daniel, who has four points in the last five games, is in the top 10 in both goals and points.
The Wild currently hold the eighth spot in the West with 58 points and a 25-20-8 record. A loss would tie them with ninth-place Phoenix.
With 71 points and a 33-15-5 revcord, the Canucks trail only the Red Wings in the standings. The Canucks are tied for the most road wins, 18, in the NHL.
This will be the fifth meeting this season between the Wild and Canucks. The season series started on Oct. 22 in Vancouver when Minnesota lost a 3-2 shootout. The Wild won 5-1 in Minnesota on Nov. 3, but have lost the last two, each in Vancouver, by a combined 7-0.
The game starts at 7 Central and will be on Fox Sports North.
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Wild Vs. Canucks Final Score: Vancouver Beats Minnesota 5-2
The Vancouver Canucks threw a double dose of the Sedin brothers at the Minnesota Wild before skating away from the Xcel Engery Center with a 5-2 win.
Canuck captain Henrik Sedin shook off a nagging foot injury to play in his 553rd consecutive game, adding a second period goal which would prove to be the game-winning score. After Dany Heatley put the Wild up 1-0 before anyone broke a sweat in the first period, Daniel Sedin opened the scoring for Vancouver with a power play goal.
Maxim Lapierre also scored in the first period for Minnesota while Manny Malhotra and Ryan Kesler put the win away for the Canucks with third period goals. Devin Setoguchi was able to find the net for the Wild in the third period but Minnesota was unable to seriously threaten for the win.
Vancouver expanded their commanding lead in the Northwest Division to 15 points over the second place Wild. Minnesota stays at home for their next game when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday evening.
For more on the Minnesota Wild, check out Hockey Wilderness. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NHL hub at SBNation.com/NHL.
Feb 09 10:57p by Tom Lewis