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Sedin brothers lead Canucks past Avalanche

Nov 4, 2007 - 6:34 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- The Colorado Avalanche no longer are undefeated at home thanks to Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

The twin brothers combined for six points to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 victory over the Avalanche on Saturday.

Brendan Morrison and Ryan Kesler scored goals and captain Markus Naslund added a pair of assists for the Canucks, who netted more than three tallies for the first time since October 21 - a span of five games, including four losses.

"I really think we battled hard tonight," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. "I liked our overall competitiveness. We kept things simple. That was a big two points there."

"I think we played better defense, too," Daniel Sedin added. "That opened up the offense for us. The entire effort in the game was stronger."

Colorado entered Saturday's contest riding a four-game winning streak and owning a perfect 6-0-0 mark at home. But Daniel Sedin got the Canucks off on the right foot, tallying a goal with 9:40 remaining in the opening period.

Henrik Sedin left a pass for his brother right on the doorstep, and Daniel slipped the puck past goaltender Peter Budaj for a 1-0 lead.

"Markus made a good play to get that puck back, and it was a great pass to get it to me," Daniel Sedin said.

Colorado pulled even with 8:07 left in the second period, when Wyatt Smith fired a pass from the left wing boards to defenseman Jeff Finger in the slot. Finger skated around a defender and backhanded a shot over the right shoulder of netminder Roberto Luongo for a shorthanded goal.

"Luckily, the pass got through and then it was kind of a reaction, a little fake shot, and I don't think Luongo was expecting me to shoot it," Finger said. "I fooled him and I'll take it, but it hurts to lose."

Vancouver recaptured the lead just over four minutes later on Morrison's power-play goal - his fifth tally of the season. Henrik Sedin fired a pass from the right wing boards to Daniel Sedin, who had the puck skip off his stick in front of the net right to Morrison, who knocked it past Budaj.

Kesler pushed the advantage to 3-1 on a slap shot just 76 seconds into the third period.

After Marek Svatos knocked in a power-play goal at 5:06, Daniel Sedin scored what proved to be the game-winner with 6:35 left in the game.

While on a 5-on-3 power play, the Canucks worked the puck around the blue line until defenseman Mattias Ohlund found Henrik Sedin on the right side. He hit his brother with a pass in front of the net, and Daniel Sedin put it by Budaj for his second goal of the game and a 4-2 advantage.

"Well, that one was 5-on-3 and an open net, too, but it's nice to get two," Daniel Sedin said.

Svatos added his second tally with 10 seconds left, but it was too late to catch the Canucks.

"I think we gave them too much in the first two periods, and it made it tougher for us to come back in the third period," Svatos said.

Luongo made 29 saves, snuffing a number of furious charges by Colorado in the final minutes.

"We really did a good job tightening up, especially in the slot area," Luongo said. "It feels good. It would have hurt if we came out of here without any points."