In the first game he ever played against the Vancouver Canucks, Quinn Hughes was understated.

Nearly four months since his trade to the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks’ ex-captain had only one point and was plus-four Thursday as his new team beat his old one 5-2 in St. Paul, Minn. At five-on-five, shots were 20-10 for the Wild, and scoring chances 14-8 when Hughes was on the ice. He finished with 24:48 of playing time.

That would be a career game for some defenders but considering Hughes’ dynamic capabilities and dominance with the puck, he was quiet.

With two goals, three points and six shots, Matt Boldy was the big star for Minnesota on Thursday. Ryan Hartman also scored twice and Kirill Kaprizov hit the 40-goal mark for the fourth time in five seasons as the Wild pulled away from the Canucks, who were playing the second of challenging back-to-back games after stunning the National Hockey League-leading Colorado Avalanche 8-6 on Wednesday.

The Wild had been resting and practising since Saturday.

Unlike with the needy Canucks, the Wild don’t require Hughes to launch 12 shots per game, be a one-man breakout and challenge defenders one-on-one on each possession in order to generate offence. They just need him to skate and pass and be himself.

Hughes’ first game against his former teammates was subdued. And in a post-game interview with Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy, so was he.

“Yeah, I mean, definitely a little weird,” Hughes said of facing the Canucks, with whom he shattered all franchise scoring records by a defenceman during his 6 ½ seasons. “But I think that, you know, you move on and I’m happy to be here right now. Probably being in Vancouver would be a little bit weirder than this. But yeah, like I said, it was nice that we got the win, and we have a big weekend coming up.”

With the Wild pretty much locked into a first-round heavyweight tilt against the Dallas Stars, Hughes made it clear his focus is already shifting to the Stanley Cup........

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