Wild: Bouchard leads climb to summit of Northwest Division

Jonathan Hayward, Associated Press

Vancouver's Taylor Pyatt takes a shot on Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom during the first period of Monday's NHL game.

The forward's two goals and two assists helped the Wild top Vancouver and into first -- for now -- in the Northwest race.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: January 22, 2008 - 12:18 AM

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - One point separated first from fourth in the Northwest Division on Monday.

"My God, we can't breathe," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said Monday morning.

Win one game, you're in first. Lose a few, you could be out, which explains why Monday's game between the Vancouver Canucks and Wild had the pace of two desperate teams teetering between the top of the Northwest Division and being a playoff outsider.

In the end, the Wild skated out of this high-speed, hard-hitting, highly entertaining affair with a 4-2 victory and the top spot -- albeit maybe temporarily -- in the emotional roller-coaster division.

"You could see both teams wanted this game," Lemaire said after the game. "Both teams fought for everything, played very hard. That was a great, great game for the fans."

Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored two goals and two assists, including one on Brian Rolston's first goal of 2008, and Niklas Backstrom made 38 saves.

Bouchard joined Marian Gaborik as the only Wild players with 200 career points. He tied a career high with his fourth four-point game, and it was his seventh career two-goal game.

"It's not only the four points," Lemaire said of Bouchard, "it's what he did with the puck. He played an exceptional game."

Mikko Koivu, playing an inspired game inside the arena where he broke his leg Nov. 16, also scored a goal, the winner after Taylor Pyatt scored with 28.3 seconds left. After Koivu's goal, he skated past the Canucks bench to taunt them.

The Wild snapped a two-game losing streak heading into yet another important game tonight in Calgary.

It was a total team effort for the Wild, but some undeniably deserve kudos. Up front, rookie James Sheppard might have played his best all-around game in the NHL and defenseman Brent Burns was dominant in all facets.

The subplot entering the game revolved around whether there would be a Finland-Sweden clash between Koivu and Canucks defenseman Mattias Ohlund, who broke Koivu's leg.

That never transpired, although Koivu certainly lined Ohlund up during one first-period shift. He hit nothing but glass, and seconds later clobbered Canucks agitator Matt Cooke. Later, Koivu had several run-ins with Swedish twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

"What we came here for was the win," Koivu said. "That's the only reason we came here. That's the only reason we can be happy, and the only thing I care about."

The Wild set a physical tone from the outset, outhitting the Canucks 11-5 in the first period. Derek Boogaard led the way, nailing Jeff Cowan with an open-ice hit, then pounding Trevor Linden.

"You can see every guy came to play tonight," Burns said. "All the guys were playing physical. It was the first time in a while that every single guy bought into it."

The Wild kept the intensity up and emerged the better team in the second period after a scoreless first.

Roberto Luongo made his nightly highlight-reel save, robbing Koivu with a lunging glove after the shrewd forward chipped the puck by Markus Naslund and off the wall to create himself a breakaway.

But the Wild kept pressing and finally converted on Rolston's first goal since Dec. 29. Keith Carney chipped the puck deep, then Sheppard, a 19-year-old, outbattled Linden, a 19-year NHL vet. Sheppard got the puck to Bouchard, who danced free and sent the puck in front for Rolston's tally, his first goal in 10 games.

The Canucks answered only 40 seconds later when Kurtis Foster, while pressured, couldn't get the puck out. Alexandre Burrows snagged the puck, drove the net, lured Backstrom out of position and scored on a wraparound.

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