It took two months but the Vancouver Canucks finally got b ack to .500 hockey with their fourth straight victory Monday night, 3-2, over the Colorado Avalanche.
Sven Baertschi scored twice including the game-winner on the power play with less 
than four minutes to go in regulation.
Early in December he was healthy scratch and has been hot since with six goals and 11 points in qo games.
“Coming back after that, I had a bit of attitude in my game because no one wants to sit out,” he said. “I felt like I was letting the team down there. I came back after and started playing really well, so I guess it was good for me.”
The four-game streak is the longest of the season and matches the Canucks season-opening start when they went 4-0-0.
“I’ve been able to get on the score sheet, but I’m more excited about how well we’ve been playing with the winning streak,” Baertschi said.
Bo Horvat also scored for the Canucks.
Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen tied the game at 1-1 with sniper’s goal and Tyson Barrie broke a scoring drought when he tied the game 2-2 after the Canucks had a goal waived off that would have made the score 3-1.
Calvin Pickard took the loss on 21 saves and was disappointed in giving up the late power play goal.
“That’s kind of been the story lately. We were actually playing good in the third there, we tied it up, then we kind of shot ourselves in the foot again,” Pickard said.
Ryan Miller made 24 saves and won his 350th NHL game, the third US-born player to reach that milestone.
“It was something I had identified that would be exciting to be a part of,” Miller said. “You play a lot of hockey to reach that point.”
WATCH: All Avalanche vs. Canucks highlights
The Avs dropped to 12-24-1 on the season with their fourth straight loss.
“We played a solid hockey game except for eight to 10 plays,” coach Jared Bednar said. “A couple were needless penalties, a handful of turnovers, and it ends up costing us.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.