Canucks 3, Avalanche 1
DENVER -- Center Bo Horvat had a goal and an assist, goaltender Jacob Markstrom had 29 saves and added an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Defenseman Matt Bartkowski and left winger Sven Baertschi also had goals for Vancouver. The Canucks (21-20-12) snapped a four-game winless streak.
Defenseman Francois Beauchemin scored and goalie Semyon Varlamov had 25 saves for Colorado.
The struggling Avalanche finished their homestand 0-3-1 and now play five of their next seven on the road. Colorado (27-25-4) had gone 18-8-2 in December and January to move into the first wild card spot in the Western Conference but have stumbled since the All-Star break.
Horvat gave the Canucks a two-goal cushion at 4:30 of the third. Defenseman Luca Sisba took the puck from behind the Vancouver net through the Avalanche players and fed Horvat for a snap shot to make it 3-1.
It was his 10th of the season.
Varlamov went off for an extra skater with 3:25 left but the Avalanche couldn't score.
The Avalanche got three straight power plays toward the end of the first period, including 57 combined seconds of 5-on-3 but couldn't score.
They finally broke less than a minute after Vancouver killed off the last of its penalties. Right winger Jarome Iginla got the puck behind the net and fed Beauchemin pinching in from the point. The defenseman's one-timer beat Markstrom high at 2:26 of the second for his seventh of the season.
The Canucks tied it midway through the period just as their first power play ended. Bartkowski took a pass from left winger Alexandre Burrows in the slot and beat Varlamov with a snap shot at 9:43. It was his third.
Vancouver went ahead 2-1 at 16:22 of the second when Baertschi knocked in defenseman Ben Hutton's rebound. Colorado coach Patrick Roy challenged the ruling for goaltender interference but it held up under review.
Canucks center Brandon Sutter took a puck to the face in the second period and did not return.
NOTES: Avalanche RW Jack Skille missed his second straight game with a concussion. Skille sustained the concussion in the third period of Colorado's overtime loss to Dallas last week. He has seven goals and five assists in his first season with Colorado. ... The Canucks came into Tuesday struggling on the power play. They have gone 1-for-12 with the man advantage in the previous eight games. ... Colorado D Nick Holden is wearing a full face shield to protect his broken nose suffered when he was hit on a high stick by Winnipeg RW Drew Stafford on Saturday. ... Vancouver RW Radim Vrbata started Tuesday's game on the fourth line. The Former Avalanche had one goal in his previous 18 games.