Halak shuts door as Canucks surge late to snap Avalanche's 4-game win streak

Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller scored 1:52 apart early in the third period, Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 shots and the Vancouver Canucks beat the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Boeser got things rolling by taking advantage of a turnover with a goal 1:23 into the final period. Miller knocked in another off a rebound moments later. Bo Horvat added an empty-net goal as the Canucks finished 1-2 against the Avalanche this season. They avoided being swept by Colorado for the first time since 1996-97 in the season series.

The Avalanche have been the third-period comeback kings this season, but couldn't add to their total of 10, tied for tops in the league. Nazem Kadri's power-play goal made it 2-1 early in the third.

Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in a game filled with plenty of skating and not a lot of whistles. There were long stretches with no breaks.

Miller added an assist on Horvat's empty-netter with 17.6 seconds remaining. Miller now has 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) over his last 17 games.

WATCH l Canucks snap 3-game skid with win over Avalanche:

Andrew Cogliano made his Avalanche debut after being acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline. The veteran forward nearly scored an early goal and demonstrated his tenacity by getting into a minor scuffle after being called for tripping.

The defense ruled the night over the opening 40 minutes. Kuemper withstood 18 shots through two periods, while Halak turned back 23 — and got some help with Kadri hitting the post.

"You're always a good team until someone shows you you're not," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.

The Canucks face an uphill climb to claim one of the final playoff spots. Just don't tell them that.

"Until we're done, we're playing every game