Wild wrap up a playoff spot with 5-2 victory over the Canucks

ST. PAUL. Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy scored his 39th and 40th goals, Kirill Kaprizov added his 40th and the Minnesota Wild wrapped up a playoff spot with a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

Third in the Western Conference and the NHL's stacked Central Division, Minnesota secured the postseason spot in 75 games after getting in last season in the 82nd and final game before falling to Vegas in the first round.

Ryan Hartmman scored twice in the third to reach 20 goals, and Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves to help the Wild rebound from a 6-3 loss at Boston on Saturday.

Former Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes had his 67th assist. He joined the Wild in a blockbuster trade in December that sent Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in 2026 to Vancouver.

Tom Willander and Jake DeBrusk scored for NHL-worst Vancouver, and Nikita Tolopilo stopped 32 shots. The Canucks were coming off an 8-6 victory at NHL-leading Colorado on Wednesday night.

Boldy tied it at 2 on a wrist shot at 23 seconds of the second period, and Kaprizov followed on a snap shot at 06:08 of the period. Hartmman scored on a tip at 6:03 of the third and had an empty-netter.

The Wild are six points behind Dallas and 12 back of Colorado.

Canucks: Host Utah on Saturday.

Wild: At Ottawa on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vancouver Canucks center Ty Mueller (39) skates with the puck ahead of Minnesota Wild right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, left, and Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (40) compete for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, right, skates with the puck as Vancouver Canucks center Teddy Blueger (53) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson defends his net against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Wild right wing Danila Yurov (22) shoots the puck against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo (60) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Phoenix guard Collin Gillespie set the Suns’ franchise record for 3-pointers in a season on Thursday night.

Gillespie set the mark in the second quarter of the Suns' 127-107 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. He hit his 227th 3-pointer from the wing, surpassing the record of 226 3s, set by Quentin Richardson in the 2004-05 season.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Gillespie said. “And I'm extremely grateful and thankful to everybody here for helping me, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really mean much right now with the loss.”

Gillespie wasn't all that pleased with his overall performance after finishing with six points on 2-of-7 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.

“I gotta start finding it again — offensively, defensively, pressure-wise,” Gillespie said of the Suns' sixth road loss in their last seven games. “And then just continue to move in the right direction. We just got to continue to talk to each other and figure it out on the fly here as we get guys back.”

Also in the game, Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel set the Hornets’ franchise record for 3-pointers in a season. Knueppel needed four 3s entering Thursday night’s game and, after missing two wide open looks in the fourth quarter, Knueppel finally hit his 261st 3-pointer off an assist from Grant Williams.

The 20-year-old Knueppel beat the previous franchise mark of 260 3-pointers set by Kemba Walker in 2018-19.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) prepares to shoot a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies forward Tyler Burton (5) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)