The Vancouver Canucks (37-29-13) open a three-game homestand to close out their season when they host the Minnesota Wild (43-29-7) tonight at Rogers Arena.
While there are no stakes for the Canucks, the Wild desperately needs a victory to lock down one of the final playoff berths in the Western Conference.

What we know

Rookie Ty Mueller will make his NHL debut and will centre a line with Canucks leading goal scorers Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser. The 22-year-old Edmonton native has 12 goals and 38 points in 62 games as a first-year pro in Abbotsford.
Mueller replaces Max Sasson in the lineup. Sasson was injured in Thursday’s 4-1 win at Colorado. Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves in that victory. With Thatcher Demko under the weather, Lankinen gets the start again tonight. He made a season-high 37 saves in a 3-1 win over the Wild on March 7th.
Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and an assist on Thursday. He has scored the game winner in back to back games and leads all Canucks with six GWG on the season. Sherwood has two goals and three assists on a four-game point streak.
Jake DeBrusk has scored in back-to-back games. His goal to open the scoring on Thursday in Denver moved him one ahead of Brock Boeser and two in front of Pius Suter for the team lead with 26 on the season. One more for DeBrusk will equal his career high for goals – he twice reached 27 in his seven seasons in Boston.
Nils Höglander has goals in two of the three games he’s played since returning to the line-up after missing six games due to injury.
The Canucks have alternated wins and losses over their past seven home games (3-4). They are 16-15-7 on home ice this season. Last season, they were 27-9-5.

The opponent

Minnesota is back in action following a 4-2 loss in Calgary last night. That leaves the Wild tied with St. Louis – both teams have 93 points with two games to play – and they’re both three points ahead of the Flames, who have three games remaining.
Filip Gustavsson got the start in goal last night at the Saddledome but was given the hook at 4-0 midway through the third period. He will get the start in goal again tonight. Yakov Trenin and Gustav Nyquist scored late goals for the Wild.
Minnesota got a huge boost on Thursday with the return of star forward Kirill Kaprizov, who has 25 goals and 55 points in just 39 games this season. In 10 career games against the Canucks, Kaprizov has nine goals and 17 points. Thursday also marked the return of injured centre Joel Eriksson-Ek, who responded with four goals in an 8-7 overtime victory over San Jose.
Matt Boldy, selected 12th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena, is having a breakout season. The 24-year-old leads the Wild with 26 goals and 71 points.
Minnesota is limping toward the finish line. The Wild is 2-3-2 in its past seven games and 3-5-2 in its last 10. The team has been to overtime in four of its last six outings. Tonight is the Wild’s final road game of the season. The club is one of the top road teams in the NHL, with a 22-13-5 record away from home this season. Minnesota will conclude its schedule on Tuesday at home to Anaheim.
The Canucks and Wild have split their first two meetings of the season. Minnesota was a 3-2 winner in overtime at Xcel Energy Center in early December while the Canucks posted a 3-1 victory at home on March 7th.
Today’s referees: Francis Charron & Jean Hebert
Today’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson

What we heard

Rick Tocchet not worried about playing spoiler for the Wild: “We owe it to the NHL to give it our best game. Minnesota had a tough loss yesterday. They’re going to be an angry team and on high alert. I’ve always felt the integrity of the game, we’ve got to show up. We’ve been showing up and it’s no different tonight.”
Rick Tocchet on what he wants to see from Ty Mueller tonight: “Really intelligent guy that can skate. He’s got some really good attributes and I think it’s important that a guy like that gets a taste. And then what he sees from tonight, he has to work on in the summer. Plus he’s got big playoff games coming with Abbotsford. I think there is something there with this kid.”
Ty Mueller on making his NHL debut tonight: “It’s pretty cool. It’s pretty exciting. I came off the ice at morning skate in Abbotsford; we had a game I was about to play last night and then RJ (Ryan Johnson) called me and let me know. It was a pretty cool call.”
Ty Mueller on a rookie season that has included an appearance at AHL All-Star weekend and now his first NHL call-up: “It’s been a lot of fun. I’m pretty happy with the way it’s gone so far. Personally, I always want to get better and do better so there’s still a long way to go. But so far I’m pretty happy.”
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