Canucks 3, Avalanche 1
Mike Santorelli scored two goals and set up another while Roberto Luongo came within eight seconds of a shutout as host Vancouver extended its winning streak to four games.
Ryan Kesler also tallied for the Canucks, who improved to 2-0-0 on their five-game homestand. Luongo finished with 28 saves and Chris Higgins notched a pair of assists as Vancouver posted just its third win in eight home contests.
Jamie McGinn scored a late goal and Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned aside 18 shots for the Avalanche, who completed a 1-2-0 road trip. The veteran netminder dropped to 7-1-0 while allowing more than two goals for only the second time in nine games this season.
Santorelli opened the scoring at 5:34 of the first period, beating Giguere with a backhander from the doorstep after receiving a feed from Higgins, who had intercepted a pass behind the net. After Kesler buried a loose puck at the right post 92 seconds into the third, Santorelli completed his second two-goal performance of the campaign by ripping a shot past Giguere from the right faceoff circle at 7:17 during a 2-on-1 rush.
Luongo had his bid for third shutout of the season halted when McGinn netted his fifth goal on a wrist shot.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Santorelli also scored twice on Oct. 6 at Calgary. ... The Canucks had their streak of seven straight games with a power-play goal snapped. ... Vancouver is 5-2-1 in its last eight contests despite scoring more than three goals only once in that span.