VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Mikkel Boedker scored twice as the Colorado Avalanche broke open a close game with two third-period goals to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 Wednesday.
Andreas Martinsen also scored for the Avalanche (36-31-4). The win snapped a three-game road losing streak for Colorado.
Boedker collected his second and third goals for the Avalanche since being acquired in a Feb. 29 trade with the Arizona Coyotes. Matt Duchene earned an assist to extend his scoring streak to four games (two goals, four assists).
Henrik Sedin scored for Vancouver, which lost for the sixth time in nine games. Russian defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, playing in his first game as a Canuck, had an assist.
The Avalanche moved one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild in the battle for the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Vancouver (27-30-12) saw its playoff hopes continue to dwindle. The Canucks trail Colorado by 10 points.
Ryan Miller stopped 31 shots in the Vancouver goal. Colorado's Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves.
After a scoreless second period, Boedker scored his second goal of the game with just 37 seconds gone in the third to snap a 1-1 tie.
Canuck defenseman Chris Tanev turned the puck over, allowing Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon to hit Boedker with a pass. Boedker skated around Vancouver defenseman Ben Hutton, then flipped a shot over Miller's glove for his 16th of the season.
Martinsen made it 3-1 at 5:31. He took a pass from former Canucks center Shawn Matthias, drove the net, and banked a shot in off Miller.
The teams exchanged goals 66 seconds part in the first period.
Vancouver opened the scoring at 12:00. Tryamkin, whom the Canucks signed last week from the KHL, boomed a shot from the blue line that Varlamov stopped. Daniel Sedin's shot off the rebound deflected off a leg in traffic. Henrik Sedin corralled the puck and beat Varlamov on the far side.
A Hutton turnover set up the Avalanche's goal. Duchene stole the puck off Hutton along the boards, then fed Jarome Iginla in the slot. He tipped it to Boedker, who put it past Miller.
NOTES: D Nikita Tryamkin, who is 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, became the ninth player to make his NHL debut with the Canucks this season. ... RW Alex Burrows, who missed Monday's loss to Winnipeg with a foot injury, returned to the lineup. ... C Brendan Gaunce and D Andrey Pedan, who were recalled from Utica of the AHL, both played. ... D Luca Sbisa (upper body), D Alex Biega (undisclosed), RW Derek Dorsett (upper body) and C Markus Granlund (upper body) did not dress. ... The Canucks next game is Friday in Edmonton then they return home Saturday against St. Louis. ... Colorado D Tyson Barrie dressed despite missing practice Monday. ... The last Avalanche 30-goal scorers were Joe Sakic (36) and Milan Hejduk (35) in 2006-07. ... D Andrew Bodnarchuk replaced D Zack Redmond on the third defensive pair. ... D Chris Bigras, who has missed three games with a concussion, will be re-evaluated before the Avalanche play in Calgary on Friday.
