Vancouver has scored 22 goals in its last 11 games, an average of two a game. I'm not expecting the Canucks to score much here because their offense is cold and because I believe the Wild will have a serious defensive commitment.

Minnesota has lost five of its last seven, including the past three. This is the start of a three-game Western Canada road swing for the Wild. Minnesota has a good goalie in Devan Dubnyk and its coach, Bruce Boudreau, was stressing shoring up his team's defense.

The Wild lost 5-3 to the high-flying Maple Leafs in their last game this past Saturday. But they held Toronto to 23 shots on goal. The Maple Leafs scored two of their goals in flue fashion where shots deflected off Minnesota defenseman Nick Seeler. So the five goals scored by the Maple Leafs is deceiving.