Coyle, Brodin score as Wild top Canucks for Northwest lead

Vancouver, BC, Canada (4E Sports) – Rookie Charlie Coyle hit the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Minnesota Wild grabbed solo lead in the Northwest Division with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Monday at Rogers Arena.

Fellow rookie Jonas Brodin and Matt Cullen also scored while Niklas Backstrom made 35 saves as the Wild (16-10-2) ended an 11-game losing streak in Vancouver.

The Wild’s first win at Rogers Arena since Jan. 31, 2009 moved them two points ahead in the Northwest Division that was dominated by the Canucks for four straight seasons.

Henrik Sedin ended Vancouver’s longest power-play drought in almost 16 years with a goal in the second period but that wasn’t enough to boost the Canucks, who lost six of their last eight games to slip to 13-9-6.

Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo, making his fourth straight start for just the second time this season, matched Backstrom in the first but allowed three goals in the next two periods to finish with 22 saves.

After a scoreless first, Sedin put the Canucks on the board with assists from Daniel Sedin and Jason Garrison at 10:18 of the second period, ending Vancouver’s 11-game streak without a power-play goal.

However, the Wild got even minutes later with a power-play goal from Jonas Brodin, who beat Luongo high on the glove side for his second score of the year.

In the third, Coyle pushed the Wild ahead by tipping Clayton Stoner’s high point shot in off the crossbar before Cullen made it 3-1 by firing a quick shot between Luongo’s legs.

---

---