The Taming of the Wild Continues

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Reid Boucher scored twice in Vancouver's four-goal second period and the Canucks defeated the slumping Minnesota Wild 4-2 on Saturday.

Brock Boeser and Jack Skille also scored for Vancouver, while Richard Bachman stopped 25 shots in just his third start of the season.

Ryan Suter and Eric Staal scored for Minnesota late in the third period and Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves in his first start since March 12. The Wild have lost seven of their last eight and are now 3-10-0 in March.

The Canucks were 1-5-2 in their last eight games, but they didn't have any problem with the Wild. Boucher scored a power-play goal 19 seconds into the second period, gathering a rebound in the slot and wrapping it around a crowd of players and past Kuemper. Two Minnesota defenders had a chance to clear the rebound but couldn't control it, leaving Boucher free to tuck it into the corner of the net.