VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The challenges continue for the Vancouver Canucks defense corps.It was learned Monday that top rearguard Alex Edler will need surgery to repair a broken finger and be out for the next month. Edlers injury means that Vancouver will be without him and fellow veteran Chris Tanev for an extended period, starting Tuesday as the Canucks (9-11-2) host the Minnesota Wild (11-7-3) at Rogers Arena.Its tough, Vancouver defenseman Philip Larsen told reporters after practice Monday. Thats our first (defense) pairing. A lot of (defensemen) have to step up and do as good as we can.The absences of Edler and Tanev, who has been sidelined in recent weeks and shows no signs of returning soon, pose more challenges for a Vancouver defense crew that is trending younger this season. Since the start of the campaign, injuries, other health woes and inconsistency have forced coach Willie Desjardins to adjust his pairings and give more playing time to some defensemen than he would like.Edler, 30, who usually records the most minutes per game among defensemen, if not the whole team, was injured on Saturday night while blocking a shot in the first period of a 3-2 shootout victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. With Edler and Tanev now both out, Larsen, a 26-year-old offensive defenseman from Esbjerg, Denmark, who is in his first season with the Canucks, has a chance to play a more active role.But it remains to be seen how much action Larsen will see. He resumed practicing with the team Monday after being sidelined with a virus.Its been a tough couple weeks, said Larsen, a right-side rearguard. Its nice to be back. It was a tough practice and it was kind of nice to get it going.At the outset of the season, Larsen was seen as a positive addition to Vancouvers power play, but it has been terrible most of the season -- and he has rarely been on it. He has lacked consistency after returning to the National Hockey League following two seasons in Europes Kontinental Hockey League. Before getting sick, he struggled to stay in the lineup.It was tough, he said. I got out of the lineup and I wanted to get back in as quick as possible. Then when I got sick on top of that, it was pretty frustrating.With Edler out for an extended period, rookie Troy Stecher, 22, will almost assuredly play a more prominent role. Stecher, a native of the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, B.C., began the season with Utica of the American Hockey League -- and is on his second call-up -- but has quickly emerged as one of the Canucks top blueliners.A right-handed shot, Stecher has played on both the right and left sides while taking a regular shift and pulling duty on both specialty teams. If Larsen can return soon Stecher may soon see more action on the left side, which is Edlers usual spot. The rookie stood out in Denver after Edlers injury limited the Canucks to five defensemen, leading the Canucks with five shots.Stecher is determined to make a difference in spite of his neophyte status.I think you have to have that mindset, Stecher, an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota, told The Vancouver Sun. I think if you go into (the NHL) and kind of dip your toe in the water, thats when youre going to get exposed. You might as well just do a cannonball and throw everything you have into it.The Canucks are hoping to go on a cannonball run of sorts after finishing their worst first quarter of a season since 1997. They won two of three games on their recent road trip and are looking to keep the good times rolling against the Wild.Meanwhile, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau would also like his team to get on a winning streak. The Wild enter Tuesdays contest on the heels of a 4-3 shootout loss in St. Louis. The Wild squandered a 2-1 lead in the third period, rallied to force overtime, but still lost.However, Minnesota, which will play its second contest on a five-game road trip Tuesday, has still fared well lately. The Wild went 2-0-2 in four games last week, earning six of a possible eight points.I think were playing good hockey, Boudreau told reporters. Its just not winning eight in a row. I would like to be able to put something together. 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With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan scored a goal in each half as the U.S. womens soccer team defeated New Zealand 2-0 in its debut at the Rio Games on Wednesday, getting off to a solid start in its attempt to win a fourth straight Olympic gold medal.Lloyd put the Americans ahead with a header in the ninth minute and Morgan added to the lead with a low shot from inside the area less than a minute into the second half at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte.That was the best way we could have started, said Tobin Heath, who made the cross that led to Lloyds goal. We came out with a lot of energy and a lot of determination. I think in that regards we put our best foot forward and got that goal and I think that helped propel us throughout the game.The U.S. dominated from the start to earn the convincing victory and remain unbeaten in 2016, with 14 shutouts and only one draw in 16 games.I was really pleased that we got the clean sheet, U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. I thought we moved the ball against a very determined team.Near the end of the game, many of the nearly 10,000 fans at the stadium chanted Zika, Zika at goalkeeper Hope Solo, who before coming to the Olympics upset some Brazilians by tweeting a photo of herself wearing a hat with mosquito netting in a reference to the virus. The chants were repeated after the final whistle.Im glad the fans had fun, Solo said. And if they had fun at my expense, more power to them.The Americans are trying to become the first team to win the Olympics after succeeding at the World Cup. The Olympic tournament is the first major competition for the U.S. since the retirement of key players such as Abby Wambach and Lauren Holiday following last years world title in Canada.The revamped Americans next play France on Saturday, again at the Mineirao.France and Colombia play the other Group G match later Wednesday, also in Belo Horizonte.New Zealand, playing in its third consecutive Olympicss, barely threatened the U.dddddddddddd. at the Mineirao, which holds more than 60,000 spectators.Lloyd opened the scoring after Heath beat a couple of defenders just outside the area before making a cross to the far post, where the U.S. captain outjumped a defender to head the ball into the other corner and score her seventh Olympic goal. Lloyd has scored in three straight Olympics, including in the finals both in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.It was the 89th goal in 225 appearances for the midfielder, who is the most-capped player at the Olympic tournament. She has 13 Olympic appearances, tied with Solo for the most on the team.Morgan scored the second goal with a low shot by the near post after receiving a pass by Morgan Brian inside the area. It was Morgans 12th goal of the year, and fifth at Olympic tournaments.The U.S. is trying to win its fifth gold medal since womens soccer became an Olympic sport in 1996 in Atlanta. The only time it didnt win the Olympics was in 2000 in Sydney, when it lost the final to Norway.The Americans have a fresh team with 11 Olympic newcomers, although many who made it to Rio were in the World Cup-winning squad in Canada last year.In addition to playing with a younger team, the U.S. arrived in Rio with some players recovering from injuries, including regular starter Megan Rapinoe, who was on the bench the entire match on Wednesday.Mallory Pugh, 18, started the game to become the youngest American womens player to start in an Olympic match.The U.S. announced earlier Wednesday that its first two friendlies after the Olympics will be against Thailand on Sept. 15 in Columbus, Ohio, and against the Netherlands on Sept. 18 in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '