The Vancouver Canucks got a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild, their first shutout win in over a month. The shutout was the first for goaltender Casey DeSmith of the year, and his first overall since 2022.

DeSmith had 26 saves while shutting down Marcus Johansson and the Wild attack. It was his first start in five games, and he continued his streak of defeating the Wild. Normally, Thatcher Demko is the primary goalie for the Canucks.

“I don’t think it’s anything in particular,” DeSmith said, when asked what made him so effective, “I just try to show up every game and sometimes it goes your way,” via Kevin Woodley of the NHL.

“There was a lot of action down low, which is nice when you haven’t played in a while,” DeSmith added. “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.”

Casey DeSmith joined the Canucks after getting traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Montreal Canadiens and then Vancouver. Prior to the trade, he spent his first six years in the NHL with the Pirates. He now has ten career shutouts.

On the Canucks offense, both Theodor Blueger and Nils Hoglander scored for Vancouver. The win moved the Canucks to 17-9-1 on the season and tied for second in the Pacific Division with 35 points.