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Sedin's shootout goal lifts Canucks over Wild

Mar 5, 2007 - 7:16 AM VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) -- Daniel Sedin's first shootout goal of the season came at a great time for the Vancouver Canucks.

Sedin scored in the sixth round of the bonus format to lift the Canucks to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Vancouver has 81 points and leads the Wild and Calgary Flames by two points in the tight Northwest Division.

"I thought we deserved it tonight," Vancouver captain Markus Naslund said. "I thought we played one of our better games all year. We had the whole team involved. It was a playoff-type atmosphere out there."

Sedin, who entered 0-for-4 in shootouts this season, netted the winner when he skated in and deked goaltender Niklas Backstrom before sliding the puck past him on the forehand.

"I was getting some tips from Tommi (Santala) and the Finnish guys about Backstrom," Sedin said. "I just faked the shot and the goalie went down, and it was an empty-netter, pretty easy."

Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo preserved the win by denying Pierre-Marc Bouchard with a glove save. Luongo finished with 28 saves.

"I just try to stop the puck and be patient," Luongo said. "Fortunately, I was able to make the save on Bouchard and we were able to win."

Luongo is 7-1-1 with 22 goals allowed in his last nine starts.

Jeff Cowan scored twice and defenseman Sami Salo tallied for Vancouver, which is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games.

Cowan tied the game, 2-2, at 2:44 of the second period when he deflected defenseman Willie Mitchell's shot from the right point past Backstrom. He gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead at 12:42 when he deflected Mitchell's slap shot past Backstrom.

"I just got fortunate with a couple nice tips that went in," said Cowan, who entered with just one goal in 24 games. "It's a nice opportunity to play. It just feels great to be able to chip in and get some more ice time."

Branko Radivojevic, Marian Gaborik and defenseman Kim Johnsson scored for Minnesota, which is 4-1-1 in its last six contests.

"We are very happy to get the one point," Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire said. "I felt that we only played one period. For the first two periods, we were not there at all."

Backstrom made 32 saves in his return after suffering a lower-body injury in a 2-0 overtime loss to the Flames on Wednesday.

"Overall it was good," Backstrom said. "I got a lot of shots, and for me it's hard to get back into the game after missing some time. So, it was good to get some shots and get a feel for the puck."