Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman each scored a pair of goals and the Minnesota Wild finished strong for a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks to clinch a playoff berth Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Kirill Kaprizov notched a goal and an assist for Minnesota (42-21-12, 96 points), which secured a spot in the postseason for the second straight season and the sixth time in the past seven years. Mats Zuccarello tallied a pair of assists.
Tom Willander and Jake DeBrusk scored one goal each for Vancouver (22-45-8, 52 points). The Canucks failed to provide the same scoring punch one night after they erupted for eight goals in a win against the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.
Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn the victory.
Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo allowed four goals on 36 shots.
Boldy opened the scoring for Minnesota at the 8:32 mark of the first period. The Wild kept the puck in the offensive zone, and Boldy capitalized on a point-blank shot from the left circle.
Willander evened the score at 1-all with four minutes left in the first period. He skated down the right side and scored on a puck that caromed off the end boards and onto his stick.
Forty-two seconds later, Vancouver took a 2-1 lead on the power play. DeBrusk redirected a blast from Filip Hronek into the net.
Boldy struck again to even the score at 2-all in the first minute of the second period, notching his first 40-goal campaign.
Kaprizov followed suit with his 40th goal less than six minutes later to put the Wild on top 3-2. He scored on a far angle from the right circle before Tolopilo could recover. The Russian star reached the 40-goal mark for the fourth time in his six NHL seasons.
Hartman gave Minnesota a 4-2 lead with 13:57 remaining in the third period. He set a screen in front of the crease and deflected in a shot from Zuccarello.
Hartman finished the scoring with his 20th goal of the season, an empty-net tally with 1:08 to play.
