Wild slip late against Canucks, take a hit in the Western Conference standings

VANCOUVER – Considering the distance between the Wild and the teams they’re trailing in the Central Division — rivals who also just bolstered their rosters by the NHL trade deadline — they might want to be more mindful of who’s chasing them.

The Wild had a chance to widen that lead Friday night but blew it: Despite being mostly in control, they lost 3-1 to the Canucks at Rogers Arena to tighten the playoff race in the Western Conference.

“It’s a tough league to win in,” coach John Hynes said. “I thought we did the things that ice the game that gives us the best chance to win, and unfortunately tonight we didn’t get the job done.”

Vancouver, which entered the game on the outside looking in, took over the final wild-card berth, and the Canucks’ 69 points are only seven shy of the Wild’s 76.

The Wild actually dropped to the first wild-card spot, with Colorado moving into third in the Central, because the Avalanche (same points) have more regulation wins.

“Emotional time of the season,” Marco Rossi said. “Every one matters so much.”

Vancouver’s Kiefer Sherwood broke a 1-1 tie with 3 minutes, 45 seconds to go after a Brock Faber equalizer earlier in the third period ended the Wild’s dry spell that started during a handful of close calls in the first period.

Amid a fast start with few whistles, the Wild dominated the puck and were a handful in the offensive zone; goalie Kevin Lankinen made saves but not stops, with shots bouncing off him to fuel the Wild’s pressure.

Not even a hooking penalty by Devin Shore interrupted the Wild’s pace, as they easily denied the Canucks’ first power play.

But they didn’t overcome another infraction only 36 seconds after they were back to full strength, this time against Zach Bogosian for holding.

That’s when Elias Pettersson hurled a one-timer through traffic at 16:14 by Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson after not scoring for 15 games.

During the second period, Gustavsson came up clutch during another Vancouver power play, twice stymieing Conor Garland — including at the back post.

Then on their second power play, the Wild responded 7:12 into the third period when Rossi (who had two attempts blocked by Lankinen) set up Faber for a one-timer that flew by Lankinen.

But that momentum didn’t lead to another Wild goal.

Instead, a wide-open Sherwood settled the puck at the back post and wired a shot by Gustavsson for the final go-ahead goal. Teddy Blueger added an empty-netter with 54 seconds remaining.

Gustavsson finished with 17 saves, while Lankinen had 37.

“That’s as frustrating as it gets, a game like that,” Faber said. “I thought we outplayed them 80% of the game maybe, 75% of the game. Probably doubled their Grade-A chances. Those ones are as frustrating as they get, for sure.”

The game-winner was one of just six shots the Canucks put on net in the third period, while the Wild racked up 15.

“It’s a little bit of a broken play, to be honest with you,” Hynes said. “It wasn’t so much of a structural thing. That’s what happens sometimes when you put a lot of pressure on a team, and you have all kinds of different looks.

“Sometimes it comes down to a bounce.”

Justin Brazeau, acquired by the Wild on Thursday night from Boston for forwards Jakub Lauko and Marat Khusnutdinov and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick, arrived in Vancouver in time to make his team debut.

Brazeau played on the fourth line with Shore and Yakov Trenin, skating 7:11, dishing out two hits and blocking one shot.

“Legs were probably a little heavier than normal after the day,” he said, “so it’s kind of nice to get those out of the way and get your feet wet and kind of get rolling here.”

BOXSCORE: Canucks 3, Wild 1

NHL standings

Aside from a minor league deal that sent forward Reese Johnson to Toronto for future considerations, the Wild didn’t make any other trades before Friday’s 2 p.m. Central time deadline. But their competition did.

Winnipeg, which is atop the NHL and Central Division with 92 points, added defenseman Luke Schenn and winger Brandon Tanev. Dallas, which is ahead of the Wild by eight points, secured Mikko Rantanen from Carolina and signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension.

As for Colorado, the Avalanche retooled their forward group with Charlie Coyle and Brock Nelson.

The Wild’s lineup should still change, once Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin heal their injuries. But in the meantime, this is their team, and Wild came up just short in their first test since getting that confirmation.

Now, they’ll return to St. Paul for a seven-game homestand that begins Sunday afternoon vs. the Penguins.

“You try not to get too high or too low over games,” Faber said. “With 19 games left, every game’s important and let that one sting and wake up tomorrow with another chance on Sunday. We got a big homestand here and it’s going to be nice staying off the plane and just getting time to regroup, play in front of our fans, get in a rhythm.

“It’s obviously a big stretch.”