Wild-Vancouver Game 2 preview
August 4, 2020 at 3:10AM
Stalock's shutout sets the stage
Preview: The Wild's series-opening victory over Vancouver was just its third Game 1 win in franchise history and first since April 16, 2015, at St. Louis. Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series have a record of 55-1. Alex Stalock became the fourth goalie to record a playoff shutout for the Wild, joining Devan Dubnyk (two), Ilya Bryzgalov (one) and Darcy Kuemper (one). The loss for the Canucks was the fifth time this season they've been shut out.
Players to watch: Stalock has a .929 save percentage over his past 14 games after shutting out the Canucks in Game 1. F Eric Staal had a pair of assists in 17 minutes, 8 seconds of ice time Sunday. … Canucks G Jacob Markstrom made 28 stops in his playoff debut. F Jay Beagle went 8-for-11 on faceoffs.
Numbers: Stalock's 28 saves Sunday tied Dubnyk for the most in a Wild playoff shutout. The Wild gave up only one shot on goal in the final 11:27 of play in the opener. … Of Vancouver's 28 shots in Game 1, 17 came from defensemen. F Tyler Motte's seven hits tied Wild F Marcus Foligno for the game high.
Injury: Wild D Greg Pateryn (upper body) and Canucks F Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap) are out.
Sarah McLellan
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The veteran forward was injured when hit with a shot during Thursday’s victory over Montreal.
