Wild Win Gets Minnesota Back on Top of NW

Bouchard scores 2, assists 2 in 4-2 victory over Canucks
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 22, 2008 4:37 AM CST
Wild Win Gets Minnesota Back on Top of NW
Vancouver Canucks' Taylor Pyatt, right, takes a shot on Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, of Finland, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, Jan. 21, 2008. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)   (Associated Press)

The Wild nabbed first place in the hotly contested Northwest Division on a monster game by Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The center alternated assists with goals until he'd had a hand in all of Minnesota's points in the 4-2 triumph, the Star Tribune reports. With the Canucks taking 40 shots on goal to the Wild's 26, goalie Niklas Backstrom also had a busy game.

Wild coach Jaques Lemaire praised both his key players, pointing out that for Bouchard, "It's not only the four points, it's what he did with the puck." What Bouchard ultimately did was keep his team from making a costly slip in the division standings, where the top four teams are separated by just two points. (More NHL stories.)

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