Stanley Cup Playoffs: Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild series preview
The Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild are set to square off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to get underway on August 1. A 24-team postseason allowed the Minnesota Wild to sneak into the playoffs and they’ll be facing the Vancouver Canucks in the play-in round.
It’s easy to overlook this series with other series that look more interesting on paper, but this should be a great series. Vancouver’s had a surprising season and they’re back in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Meanwhile, Minnesota turned their season around after firing Bruce Boudreau in January.
Since it’s been a while since the two teams have played, you probably need a refresher on how these two teams got to where they are. So here’s how their seasons went.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
After signing Tyler Myers and trading for J.T. Miller this summer, expectations were high for the Canucks. Their season has been a roller coaster, as they’ve pretty much alternated between good months and bad months. Here are their records by month.
- October: 8-3-1
- November: 5-7-3
- December: 8-5-0
- January: 8-3-0
- February: 5-6-2
- March: 2-3-0
The Canucks have been inconsistent, but when they’ve been at their best, they’ve been one of the best teams in the league. But when they’ve been bad, they’ve been really bad. Which Vancouver team will show up in the postseason?
MINNESOTA WILD
On Valentine’s Day, the Wild fired head coach Bruce Boudreau. At the time, they had a 27-23-7 record and were still in the postseason hunt, so it was an odd time to fire him. Dean Evason took over as the interim head coach. Under his tutelage, the Wild finished the season strong with an 8-4-0 record, which was good enough for them to grab the 10th seed in the Western Conference.
Minnesota has some veteran players who are running out of chances. But at the same time, a younger batch of players, led by Kevin Fiala, Luke Kunin, and Joel Eriksson Ek, has given the Wild a bit of a spark.