DeSmith stops 26 in shutout, Canucks hand Wild 1st loss under Hynes

Nils Hoglander and Teddy Blueger scored for the Canucks (17-9-1), who have alternated wins and losses in their past 10 games. Vancouver had 17 shots on goal, including four in the first period and three in the third.

“We’re going to go through those lulls and inconsistency, and if you can stay away from those three-, four-, five-, six-game losing streaks, it builds confidence,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Because when you’re tired or not playing well, sometimes you can hang in.”

Filip Gustavsson made 15 saves for the Wild (9-11-4), who had won four straight after Hynes took over as coach Nov. 27. Minnesota had outscored opponents 18-5 during its winning streak.

“You’re not going to win every game, it happens,” Wild forward Marcus Johansson said. “We’ve got to learn from it a little bit and move on and get ready for [Friday’s game at the Edmonton Oilers], but we can’t lay down and die losing one game. I feel like we’ve been playing well, so get back on the horse and keep going.”

Minnesota had the first 10 shots of the game, preventing Vancouver from getting its first until 13:18 of the first period. But the Wild couldn’t beat DeSmith, who was making his first start in five games and made his best saves on a few scrambles around the crease.

“There was a lot of action down low, which is nice when you haven’t played in a while,” DeSmith said. “That’s kind of always been one of my things. I’ve always been somebody who can have a long layoff and hop back in and do my job. I think it’s an extra focus in practice, a little extra gear that I have to have so when I go into a game, the game doesn’t feel that much faster.”

DeSmith improved to 5-0-0 with a .943 save percentage against the Wild, who had won their previous eight games against the Canucks.

“I don’t think it’s anything in particular,” DeSmith said. “I just try to show up every game and sometimes it goes your way.”

Hoglander put Vancouver ahead 1-0 at 18:05 of the first period after being moved up from the fourth line to the second. He pulled up off the rush near the top of the right circle and waited for Minnesota defenseman Nikita Zadorov to cut in front of Gustavsson before shooting a quick wrist shot past his glove.

“I felt like we had full control in the first period there and then they made a great read, great screen there,” Gustavsson said. “Hoglander was just waiting there, and he saw an opportunity to put it just in there.”