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First place up for grabs as Canucks battle Wild

Mar 21, 2008 - 1:20 PM Minnesota (39-26-9) at Vancouver (38-26-10) 10:00 pm EDT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) - The surging Vancouver Canucks aim to take over first place in the Northwest Division when they host the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Vancouver, which is one point behind Minnesota in a tight divisional race, has won three straight and six of its last eight games (6-2-0).

On Thursday, Roberto Luongo stopped 33 shots, while Daniel Sedin and Matt Pettinger scored first-period goals in a 4-1 win over Edmonton.

"We're going to play for first place, and obviously it's going to be a good challenge for us, and I know our guys are looking forward to it," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said.

Vancouver, which has made the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons, is looking for its second straight division title.

The Canucks have little room for error though, as they are tied with Calgary (38-26-10) and two points ahead of Colorado (39-30-6). The Flames and Avalanche are idle until Saturday.

History also suggests they have little room for error against the Wild, who they are 3-2-1 against this season. Three of the meetings have been decided by one goal, with the last one being a 3-2 overtime win in Minnesota on February 19.

Daniel Sedin assisted on the game-tying goal and then scored in overtime to lead Vancouver to the win.

The Wild, aiming for their first division title, are on a three-game winning streak as well. However, they have dropped three straight road games.

Marian Gaborik scored twice, but Niklas Backstrom allowed two goals in the bonus format as the Wild dropped a shootout, 4-3, to San Jose on Wednesday.

Minnesota has lost Kurtis Foster for the season with a broken leg. The defenseman underwent surgery on Thursday after suffering a broken femur in Wednesday's loss.