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Naslund nets hat trick as Canucks tame Wild

Nov 22, 2007 - 5:45 AM By Mike Weimerskirch PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- Markus Naslund recorded his first hat trick of the season to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.

Naslund snapped a 2-2 tie just over five minutes into the third period when he deflected a pass from Daniel Sedin while on a 3-on-2 rush for his fifth goal in the past four games.

The Vancouver captain capped the scoring and recorded the 11th hat trick of his career when he beat Minnesota goaltender Josh Harding high to the glove side with 3:33 left in the final session.

"Before, when he got chances, he sometimes shot just to get the puck to the net," said linemate Daniel Sedin, who had two assists. "Now he's shooting to score."

"He's been playing really well, and scoring key goals at key times," said Canucks Head Coach Alain Vigneault. "He's got confidence and is contributing, we need that from him."

The Canucks completed a stretch of eight consecutive games against Northwest Division rivals, compiling a 6-0-2 record. They are 9-0-2 against division foes this season.

"Any divisional game is so important," said Naslund.

"We're confident playing against teams in our division," added defenseman Willie Mitchell. "We've got a bit of roll going."

Both teams took advantage of power play opportunities in the early going.

Naslund poked in a carom off the end boards at 6:27 of the first period to give the Canucks an early 1-0 lead. A minute earlier, Naslund had drawn a charging penalty against Minnesota's Stephane Veilleux.

"I told them to play hard and to play smart," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. "It was nice to get the lead."

The teams exchanged even strength goals 31 seconds apart, before Marian Gaborik scored a power play goal of his own. Gaborik fired a wrist shot over the glove hand of Vancouver goaltender Curtis Sanford at 10:30 of the first period to tie the game 2-2.

"We got right back in the game, which is good," said Brian Rolston, who assisted on Gaborik's goal. "At that point, we just have to stay patient."

Gaborik had been high-sticked by Willie Mitchell less than a minute earlier. Both teams had 11 minutes in penalties and three power play opportunities in the period.

"They got a 5-on-3 there and capitalized on it at the tail end," said Mitchell, who played parts of five seasons in Minnesota.

The win comes six days after a 6-2 win in Vancouver, in which the Canucks' Mattias Ohlund slashed Mikko Koivu late in the third period, breaking the Finn's left leg.

The bad blood spilled over to tonight's game, with Wild rookie Aaron Voros squaring off with Mike Brown midway through the first period.

"The build-up to this game was all about revenge," said Vigneault. "You can't intimidate Naslund and the (Sedins), they proved it tonight."

Curtis Sanford got the win in the nets for Vancouver, making 18 saves. Sanford won his only other start, beating Columbus 4-1 on October 21.