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 After falling behind 2-0 early in the second, John-Michael Liles started the rally with a power-play goal midway through the period, and Hejduk and Wolski completed it 5 minutes later.
Peter Forsberg, back after missing the last game with a groin injury, scored his first goal since coming back to the NHL a month ago on a breakaway 5 minutes into the third as Colorado moved five points ahead of the ninth-place Canucks, who only have two games left to play.
Jose Theodore made 28 saves to improve to 4-0-1 in his last five games as the Avalanche moved into a fifth-place tie with Dallas in the Western Conference. Colorado also closed within two points of Minnesota atop the Northwest Division, and their only game left in the regular season is against the Wild on Sunday.
Willie Mitchell and Ryan Kesler scored for the Canucks, who have dropped five of six and again lost control of their own playoff fate by falling a point behind eighth-place Nashville, which beat St. Louis in overtime earlier.
Roberto Luongo finished with just 16 saves, unable to stop the bleeding as the Avalanche took over the game in the second period.
Liles had an empty net with Luongo down in a scramble at the right side of the net as Joe Sakic came up with the loose puck and patiently passed it to the defenseman in the slot instead of firing into the crowd at the side of the goal.
Hejduk was alone in the slot and cleanly beat Luongo, who appeared to be bracing for a collision with Paul Stastny. Stastny ran over him as the puck hit his glove and went into the net.
Luongo and Wolski were both down and out when Joe Sakic ripped a wrist shot wide from the slot, but Wolski was able to bat the caroming puck over the goalie's pad and glove while lying on his stomach at the side of the net.
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The Avalanche came in with five straight wins over the Canucks, including a last-second rally their last visit to Vancouver and a 6-3 thumping in Colorado last week. For a while it looked like that dominance might end.
Mitchell opened the scoring on a seeing-eye point shot Theodore never saw, and Kesler banged in his own rebound from the top of the crease with Forsberg in the penalty box for setting an offensive zone pick. But Forsberg set up Hejduk's tying goal
-- his 33rd in 55 career games against the Canucks -- by drawing the defense as he gained the zone, freeing up Hejduk for a free shot from the high slot.
Notes: Colorado D Adam Foote took a shot in the ear midway through the third period, leaving a small pool of blood behind as he went to the locker room. ... Forsberg has a goal and 10 assists in eight games since signing with the Avalanche in late February, but has also missed seven games with various injuries. ... Vancouver LW Taylor Pyatt left the game after taking a shoulder in the chin from D Jeff Finger and did not return.
[Associated Press; By HOWARD FENDRICH]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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