Canucks and Wild combine for 17 goals in outrageously chaotic game

The Vancouver Canucks just completed one of the highest-scoring games in franchise history.

A parade to the penalty box resulted in the Canucks blowing a three-goal lead during a 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Monday afternoon. These two teams combined for 17 goals after scoring just four combined goals during their first two meetings this season.

J.T. Miller recorded his first hat trick in nearly two years, and the Canucks had a 5-2 lead late in the second period.

It's the J.T. Miller show today in Minnesota! 🎩🎩🎩

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/Yp4LTgy4cW

— NHL (@NHL) February 19, 2024

And then, chaos ensued.

The Canucks took four consecutive penalties, and the Wild scored six goals in 5:42 to suddenly take an 8-5 lead.

6 UNANSWERED GOALS IN 5:12 AND THE WILD HAVE SHOCKED THE CANUCKS 🤯🚨 pic.twitter.com/AMwxD9PDNV

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) February 19, 2024

It stood as the fourth-fastest six-goal outburst in NHL history.

Their first four goals came on the power play, with the first three of those coming while the Canucks were down by two men.

They added two more at even-strength, including this tally by Marco Rossi.

when ur team blows a 5-2 lead #Canucks pic.twitter.com/AwQl3AEzAh

— #1 Casey DeSmith defender (@puckslutting) February 19, 2024

As if 13 goals weren’t enough, the two teams combined for four more goals in the latter part of the third period. Nikita Zadorov and Brock Boeser scored to bring the Canucks within one, but the Wild scored twice into an empty net to seal the victory.

Kaprizov's empty netter makes it 10-7 Wild and there have now been THREE hat tricks in this game 😳 pic.twitter.com/7RUpPYlpnn

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 19, 2024

Penalty parade sinks Canucks

Within a three-minute span late in the second and early in the third period, the Canucks took four penalties.

“You gotta learn how to play under pressure,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters after the game. “We’ll be ready to play tomorrow.”

The Wild went on to score four power play goals — three of them while the Canucks were two-men short.

Three of the four calls were clear cut, however it was fair to question the refs on the game-tying goal by Minnesota.

While the Canucks were trying to kill off their fourth five-on-three, a mad scramble ensued in front of Casey DeSmith. It looked like he had covered the puck for what seemed like an eternity, however the whistle never went and Kaprizov eventually scored.

I do think the #Canucks parade to the penalty box today has been mostly self-inflicted from a lack of composure. HOWEVER, theres no possible way the same refs who thought a puck hitting the side of the net was a goal earlier knew where it was on this play. pic.twitter.com/uUbAkotj5L

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) February 19, 2024

The Canucks voiced their displeasure to the refs, and it looked like the team might have lost some focus as the Wild scored the go-ahead goal just 19 seconds later.

Regardless game swiftly dented a Canucks penalty kill percentage that was on the rise. Their penalty kill was 13th overall in the NHL with a 79.9% efficiency entering this contest. However, that dropped to 78.3% by the time this game was finished, which initially has tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the 22nd-best penalty kill in the league.

At least the Canucks power play got off the schneid shortly before everything fell apart. Miller’s second goal occurred with the man advantage, ending a six-game goalless drought with the man advantage.

Highest scoring Canucks game ever?

It’s not often you see a team score seven goals and lose.

In fact, the Canucks just scored third-most goals in a losing effort in NHL history, tied with a handful of other teams.

However, the Canucks have both been involved in higher-scoring games, and they’ve scored more goals in a losing effort.

The Canucks, ironically, lost 10-9 to the Minnesota North Stars back on October 7, 1983. That ties them with six other teams for the most goals ever scored in a loss.

It’s also been a long time since the Canucks gave up 10 goals in a game. The last time they did that was back on February 14, 1990 against the Minnesota Wild.

Only two Canucks were even born when that last happened (Tyler Myers and Ian Cole).

In terms of highest scoring affairs in team history, this contest is up there on the list, however that 19-goal game between the North Stars and the Canucks stands as the record.

This was also the first time in 32 years that three players recorded hat tricks in the same game, as Miller had one for the Canucks while Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek recorded three-goal afternoons for the Wild.

The last time that happened was when Jari Kurri, Luc Robataille, and Mike Donnelly all scored hat tricks for the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks back on November 8, 1992.

As Sportsnet’s John Shorthouse said on the broadcast, the Canucks gave up an avalanche of goals to Minnesota in this contest. They’ll play the Avalanche tomorrow night in Colorado.