Henrik Sedin had three assists and Vancouver backup Andrew Raycroft made 30 saves as the Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Henrik Sedin set up goals by Christian Ehrhoff, Daniel Sedin, Alex Burrows to move into the NHL's scoring lead with 99 points.
Ryan Kesler added an empty-netter in the third as the Canucks (45-25-4) made up for an embarrassing loss in Edmonton a night earlier.
Daniel Sedin also had a three-point night as he added a pair of assists.
Saku Koivu was Anaheim's lone scorer as the Ducks (34-31-8) saw their already-slim chance of making the playoffs fade even further with their eighth loss in the past 12 road games. Anaheim dropped 11 points back of Detroit, who won Wednesday in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Raycroft started in place of struggling No. 1 Roberto Luongo as the Ducks outshot Vancouver 31-30. The Canucks captain, still searching for his swagger since backstopping Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal, received an unwanted night off after allowing two goals on the first four shots he faced Tuesday night in a 3-1 loss to the Oilers.
Raycroft atoned for a poor performance on Oct. 30 when Luongo was sidelined with a rib injury. That night, Raycroft allowed four goals on 22 shots before minor-league callup Cory Schneider replaced him.
Raycroft received a rousing cheer as he made his first save of the game on Corey Perry and then smothered the puck.
Ehrhoff opened the scoring 8:31 into the game as he blasted a slap shot from the blue-line over Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller's shoulder during a power play.
Daniel Sedin put the Canucks ahead 2-0 about eight minutes later as he lofted a backhand over Burrows while tangled up with Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer in front of Hiller.
Burrows gave the Canucks a 3-0 lead on a gift goal at 6:19 of the middle frame. Ducks defenceman Brett Festerling lost control of the puck behind the net and Daniel Sedin sent it out to Henrik who fed Burrows as he faced a wide open net.
Koivu spoiled Raycroft's shutout bid at 8:04 of the third, beating him with a wrist shot through the legs. The goal came shortly after the Canucks goaltender gloved Matt Beleskey's hard wrister and fans chanted "Ray-croft! Ray-croft!"
Anaheim's away record dropped to 11-20-5. The Ducks will need a hot streak or some help from other teams, because five of their remaining nine games are on the road.
NOTES: With Luongo on the bench, the Canucks did not include him in a pre-game video tribute to Canadian Olympics that they have aired since the Games ended. ...As he contemplates retirement, Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1995-96 with New Jersey. ...Anaheim defenceman Brendan Mikkelson was scratched after being called up Tuesday from Toronto of the AHL. Mikkelson played junior with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. ...Vancouver winger Mikael Samuelsson has missed three games with a shoulder injury. ...The Canucks have six 20-goal scorers for the first time since 1993. Daniel Sedin reached the mark Saturday against Detroit. ...Vancouver signed prospect Prab Rai, 20, their fifth-round draft choice in the 2008 NHL draft. The Surrey, B.C., native recently completed his junior eligibility with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. ...Anaheim defenceman James Wisniewski sat out the fourth of an eight-game suspension.
