Quinn Hughes hits milestone in Vancouver return as Wild best Canucks

Quinn Hughes scored a goal and had an assist while reaching the 500-point career mark in his return to Vancouver, and Kirill Kaprizov scored his league-leading 13th goal and also had an assist as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Canucks 4-2 on Sunday night.

Hughes, playing his first game in Vancouver since he was sent to Minnesota in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 12, 2025, became the second-fastest American defenseman in NHL history to reach 500 career points. Brian Leetch accomplished the feat in 496 games while Hughes, who was booed each time he touched the puck, did it in 520 games.

Maxim Shabanov scored a goal and had an assist and Bobby Brink also scored a goal for Minnesota, which moved two points ahead of the Utah Mammoth into first place in the Central Division with the win.

Calvin Pickard, making just his second start of the season, finished with 15 saves for his first win with the Wild.

Max Sasson and Brock Boeser scored goals and Leevi Merilainen finished with 30 saves for Vancouver, which lost its 10th straight game (0-9-1).

Minnesota, playing the second game of a back-to-back that began with a 5-1 victory at Seattle on Saturday night, took a 1-0 lead at the 18:33 mark of the first period on a power-play goal by Shabanov, who scooped in a cross-crease pass from Kaprizov inside the right post for his third goal.

Brink extended the lead to 2-0 early in the second period when he took a pass from Michael McCarron at the top of the right circle and broke in, deking Merilainen and tucking a backhand shot inside the right post.

Hughes then picked up his milestone 500th career point on the power play, slapping a shot inside a wide-open right side of the goal on a rebound of a Joel Eriksson Ek shot.

Hughes picked up career point No. 501 early in the third period when he found Kaprizov breaking down the middle of the ice between a pair of Canuck defenders. Kaprizov finished his rush with a backhand shot around Merilainen's left pad to make it 4-0.

Sasson broke up the shutout at the 6:24 mark of the third period with a breakaway score off a long stretch pass by Filip Hronek.

Boeser cut the lead to 4-2 with 3:07 left when he snapped in a shot from the high slot for his third goal.

--Field Level Media