Stanley Cup Qualifiers preview: Canucks vs. Wild

The Stanley Cup Qualifiers will use eight best-of-5 series and two four-team round-robins to determine the field and seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

NHL.com will preview every series and round-robin prior to the start of the Qualifiers on Saturday.

Today, the qualifier series between the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild.

RELATED: [Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule]

No. 7 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 10 Minnesota Wild

Canucks: 36-27-6, .565 points percentage

Wild: 35-27-7, .558 points percentage

Season series: VAN 1-1-1; MIN 2-1-0

The Minnesota Wild will try to carry over their momentum from more than four months ago when they face the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

Minnesota went 8-4-0 in the 12 games from when Dean Evason replaced Bruce Boudreau as coach on Feb. 14 to when the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. The Wild, who had made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six straight seasons before missing last season, signed Evason to a two-year contract July 13.

"[The Wild] had a slow start to the season but were kind of gaining traction before the break," Canucks forward Brock Boeser said. "We have to dictate the pace of play against them. … Their defense is one of their strengths. Their top 4 'D' are all really good defensive players."

Minnesota will match up against a Canucks team that had five forwards score at least 45 points, and top defenseman Quinn Hughes, who led NHL rookies in scoring (53 points in 68 games). The Canucks ranked eighth in goals per game (3.25) and fourth on the power play (24.2 percent) and are looking to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014-15.

"They've got a really good hockey club," Evason said. "Very well balanced, veteran presence, youthful energy and skill. They've got grit and good goaltending (from Jacob Markstrom). It's going to be a battle to get through, for sure."

Game breakers

Canucks:Center Elias Pettersson won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL last season and has had at least 27 goals, 38 assists, 22 power-play points and 66 points in each of his first two seasons. He has thrived on a line with forwards J.T. Miller, who led the Canucks with 72 points and tied Pettersson for the team lead in goals (27), and Tyler Toffoli, who was acquired from Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 17. Pettersson, an elite playmaker, has also played with Boeser in the past and during training camp.

Wild:Forward Kevin Fiala led the Wild with an NHL career-high 54 points (23 goals, 31 assists) and scored more than a point per game (38 points in 37 games) from Dec. 14 until the pause. Fiala especially had success under Evason, who previously coached him with Milwaukee of the American Hockey League, scoring 16 points (tied for sixth in NHL) in the 12 games following the coaching change.

Goaltending

Canucks: Markstrom was selected to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time this season, and his NHL career-high .918 save percentage (his best in full season) ranked fourth in the League (minimum 40 games) behind Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins (.929), Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (.922) and Ben Bishop of the Dallas Stars (.920). Markstrom, who has never played in the NHL postseason, can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He had minor knee surgery Feb. 26, and Vancouver went 3-5-0 without him before the pause.

Wild: Their situation is uncertain. Alex Stalock set NHL career highs in starts (36), wins (20) and shutouts (four) in the regular season and had a 2.67 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. Devan Dubnyk, who missed time this season for personal reasons but played at least 60 games for the Wild in each of the previous four seasons, went 12-15-2 with a 3.35 GAA, .890 save percentage and one shutout. Evason said the competition in camp also includes Kaapo Kahkonen, an AHL First-Team All-Star and the league's top goalie, and Mat Robson.

Numbers to know

Canucks: Hughes was tied with Tony DeAngelo of the New York Rangers for fourth among NHL defensemen in scoring with 53 points and set Vancouver rookie records in assists (45) and power-play points (25). He is a finalist for the Calder Trophy and could become the third Canucks player to win the award, joining Pettersson and Pavel Bure (1991-92). Hughes was one of four Canucks skaters with at least 50 points (Miller, 72; Pettersson, 66; Bo Horvat, 53).

Wild: Defenseman Ryan Suter ranked ninth among his position with 48 points (eight goals, 40 assists) in 69 games. The Wild ranked 12th in the League in goals per game (3.16) and were tied with the Florida Panthers for 10th in power-play percentage (21.3). Suter's 18 power-play points were tied with Oscar Klefbom of the Edmonton Oilers for 12th among defensemen. Suter also ranked sixth in the NHL in time on ice (1,700:09).

X-factors

Canucks:Tanner Pearson had 12 points (four goals, eight assists) and was plus-10 in 24 games during the 2014 postseason to help the Kings win the Stanley Cup. He's coming off NHL career highs in points (45; 21 goals, 24 assists) and power-play points (10) in the regular season, playing frequently on a line with Horvat at center at even strength. Pearson's playoff pedigree and secondary scoring will be key against the experienced Wild.

Wild: Mats Zuccarello may have played much of this season, his first with the Wild, in the bottom six, but ranks third among their players in career playoff games (73) behind forward Zach Parise (97) and Suter (78). Considering Zuccarello's impact in previous postseasons for the Rangers and Dallas Stars (42 points; 15 goals, 27 assists), a bounce-back performance could help Minnesota win the series.

They said it

"We've had in this organization such great teams in the past. [Henrik Sedin] and [Daniel Sedin] were unbelievable leaders and did a great job of creating a winning culture. Obviously, [Vancouver was] one game away from winning the [Stanley] Cup [in 2011]. Our main goal is to win playoff games and ultimately win the Stanley Cup." -- Canucks forward Bo Horvat

"There is momentum and everything, and crowds play an important part in the game, but at the end of the day you're just playing against the other 5-6 guys on the ice. As weird as it's going to be [playing without fans], you're still playing playoff hockey and there's going to be that competitiveness. It's going to get back to normal."-- Wild forward Zach Parise

Will win if …

Canucks: Their young core plays well on the big stage. Pettersson, 21, Hughes, 20, and Boeser, 23, have never played in the NHL postseason. Horvat, 25, played in one playoff series (six games) as a rookie in 2014-15. Vancouver has untapped potential this postseason but will rely heavily on these young players.

Wild: They contain the Canucks offense. If the Wild's goalies, either individually or by committee, outperform Markstrom, and Suter and fellow defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin help Minnesota kill most of its penalties, it can feasibly defeat Vancouver.

Canucks projected lineup

J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Tyler Toffoli

Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Brock Boeser

Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Micheal Ferland

Tyler Motte -- Jay Beagle -- Brandon Sutter

Quinn Hughes -- Chris Tanev

Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher

Oscar Fantenberg -- Tyler Myers

Jacob Markstrom

Thatcher Demko

Scratched: Justin Bailey, Jordie Benn, Jalen Chatfield, Louis Domingue, Loui Eriksson, Tyler Graovac, Olli Juolevi, Zack MacEwen, Brogan Rafferty, Jake Virtanen

Unfit to play:Josh Leivo

Wild projected lineup

Jordan Greenway -- Eric Staal -- Kevin Fiala

Zach Parise -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Luke Kunin

Marcus Foligno -- Alex Galchenyuk -- Mats Zuccarello

Ryan Donato -- Mikko Koivu -- Ryan Hartman

Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin -- Mathew Dumba

Brad Hunt -- Carson Soucy

Alex Stalock

Devan Dubnyk

Scratched:Matt Bartkowski, Louie Belpedio, Luke Johnson, Kaapo Kahkonen, Gerry Mayhew, Brennan Menell, Victor Rask, Kyle Rau, Mat Robson, Nico Sturm

Unfit to play:Greg Pateryn