Vancouver Canucks' Henrik Sedin, of Sweden, is tripped up as he tries to play the puck during second period NHL action against the Minnesota Wild in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday December 12, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckDARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Henrik Sedin continued his torrid scoring pace on Saturday with three assists to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
Sedin set up brother Daniel Sedin, Mason Raymond and Alex Burrows in the first period, and Ryan Kesler scored in the third tally as the Canucks (18-14-0) improved to 2-0 on their season-high eight-game homestand.
Shane Hnidy, Greg Zanon and Martin Havlat replied for Minnesota (15-14-3), which had won seven of its past eight contests, including an emotional 2-1 overtime victory in Calgary on Friday.
Coming off a disappointing road trip that saw the Canucks finish 2-2-0 despite winning the first two games, Vancouver held a players-only meeting on Thursday morning with the message that the time to move up the Western Conference standings and into a playoff position is now.
The team responded with a 4-2 victory over Atlanta later that night, and followed it up with another solid performance against the Wild on Saturday, in large part thanks to the play of the Sedin twins and linemate Burrows.
Daniel Sedin got things started on a Canucks power play 1:44 into the first, taking a neat feed from Henrik Sedin, faking a cross-ice pass and coolly lifting a wrist shot over goalie Josh Harding's left shoulder.
Henrik Sedin made another highlight-reel pass about five minutes later, dishing a behind-the-back feed out front to Raymond, who slipped the puck past Harding on another Canucks power play for a 2-0 lead.
It was Henrik Sedin's 500th career point in his 678th game.
After Hnidy cut the deficit to 2-1 with his first goal since Feb. 17, the Sedins took over again.
This time they owned the puck for more than a minute in Minnesota's zone, deking back and forth, passing the puck through opponent's skates and putting on a show for the sellout crowd of 18,810 at GM Place.
The shift culminated with Burrows taking a feed from Daniel Sedin and rifling a wrist shot high over Harding's glove to make it 3-1.
The Sedins each extended their points streaks to six games. Daniel has six goals and five assists during the span, while Henrik, who moved into a tie with Marian Gaborik for second in the NHL points race with 41, has 13 assists.
However, the road-weary Wild refused to go away.
Zanon cut the lead to 3-2 with a strange goal that saw him bat a rebound out of the air, off the shaft of Roberto Luongo's stick and into the net.
Minnesota dominated the second period, outshooting Vancouver 18-8, but Luongo made several key stops, including a key glove save on Mikko Koivu and a blocker stop on Havlat during a Minnesota four-minute power play.
Kesler made it 4-2 on another Canucks power play early in the third period, wiring a wrist shot off the post and past Harding, who started his sixth game of the season to give Niklas Backstrom a rest.
For Kesler it was his second goal in the last 17 games, both of which have come on the power play.
Kesler's goal was important, as Havlat made it interesting with his fourth of the season with 1:06 remaining and Harding on the bench. He tipped in a feed from Andrew Brunette.
The Wild made a strong push to tie it, peppering Luongo's crease, but they could not beat the Vancouver captain a fourth time.
NOTES: Vancouver went 3-for-5 on the power play. ... Brunette played his 900th game Saturday. Since becoming a full-time NHLer in 1998-99, Brunette has played in more games (837) than any other NHL player. He has missed just two games to injury since the 2001-02 season. ... Struggling Canucks C Kyle Wellwood was a healthy scratch for a second straight game. Rugged sparkplug Rick Rypien again moved up from the fourth line to take his place on the third line. ... Wild RW Owen Nolan missed his first game of the season after suffering a leg injury against Calgary on Friday.