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Canucks hold off Wild 4-3

Dec 13, 2009 - 7:09 AM VANCOUVER, British Columbia(AP) -- Canucks center Henrik Sedin was as good at passing on the praise as he was the puck Saturday night. Unlike the puck, his linemates passed it back.

Sedin set up first-period goals by twin brother Daniel Sedin, Mason Raymond and Alex Burrows, and Vancouver held on for a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

"I got two great scorers on the line," Henrik said after extending his points streak to six games. "We work off each other really good."

Burrows was having none of it, not after Henrik's second assist gave him 500 career points and his third moved him into a tie with New York's Marian Gaborik for second in NHL scoring with 41 points, three behind San Jose's Joe Thornton.

"Every time he gets the puck, he finds ways to get it to the shooter," Burrows said. "He saucers it through sticks or finds lanes to make the play and whether it's on his forehand of backhand, he's able to make tape-to-tape passes."

Ryan Kesler added an insurance goal on a power play 6:44 into the third period as Vancouver ended a man-advantage slump with three goals on five chances. It turned into the winner after Martin Havlat scored with 1:06 and his goalie pulled for an extra attacker, but the Wild couldn't tie it on a late scramble.

"We knew they weren't going to give up and it was good to get another one on the power play," Kesler said. "They kept fighting right to the end."

Kevin Bieksa had two assists, and Roberto Luongo made 38 saves for the Canucks, who have won the first two games of their eight-game homestand.

Defensemen Shane Hnidy scored his first goal of the season, and Greg Zanon scored his second for the Wild, who lost in regulation for just the second time in 11 games (8-2-1). Havlat and Kyle Brodziak each had two assists, and Josh Harding made 25 saves in his sixth start this season.

"We played really good and I thought I could have played better," Harding said.

Henrik keyed two power-play goals in the first 6 minutes with pretty behind-the-back passes. The Canucks' fourth-ranked power play only had one goal in 18 chances over the previous six games before Henrik's first blind pass sent Daniel in alone just above the goal line, where he lifted a perfect shot over Harding's shoulder for his fourth goal in two games.

"Right now all his passes find a way through," said Daniel, who added an assist and has six goals and 11 points in his own six-game streak.

Henrik's second pass came from behind the net, as he drew Harding across his crease one way before throwing to Raymond for a tap-in on the other side.

Hnidy scored on a similar play with 6 minutes left in the period, but the Sedins set up Burrows 3 minutes later after dominating a minute-long shift deep in the Wild's end. Burrows took a back pass from Daniel at the left faceoff circle and one-timed a shot over Harding's shoulder for his sixth goal in nine games.

"Hank and Danny are top players in this league and the way they are playing right now is fun," said Burrows, who only scored once while Daniel was out 18 games with a broken foot.

Since Daniel returned from the injury 10 games ago, the trio has combined for 41 points.

Minnesota was coming off a 2-1 overtime win in Calgary the night before in which the Wild outshot the Flames 46-23, but showed little signs of fatigue. After falling behind by two goals twice in the first period, the Wild outshot Vancouver 18-8 in the second period, forcing Luongo to come up with several big saves.

"We didn't start the way we wanted to but we were still in the game," Havlat said. "After the first, I think we were playing much better. At the end, I don't think we had enough power after playing last night but that's no excuse."

NOTES: Kesler's goal was just his second in 17 games. ... Veteran Wild RW Owen Nolan missed the game after injuring a leg in Calgary on Friday night. ... Canucks C Kyle Wellwood, who had a career-high 18 goals last season, was a healthy scratch for a second straight game. ... Five of the Canucks' last six home games have been against teams that played the night before in Alberta. ... Minnesota C Andrew Brunette played his 900th game.