Lankinen makes 31 saves, Canucks top Avalanche

DENVER -- Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves, and the Vancouver Canucks won 4-1 against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Thursday.

Dakota Joshua and Kiefer Sherwood each had a goal and an assist, and Jake DeBrusk and Nils Hoglander also scored for the Canucks (37-29-13), who have won two straight and three of their past four games.

Vancouver was eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention when the Minnesota Wild won 8-7 in overtime against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

“I think it was a really good effort. Lot of good stuff from some individuals,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “I thought the team played really well. I liked our game.”

Devon Toews scored, and Cale Makar and Charlie Coyle each had an assist for the Avalanche (48-28-4). Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves.

“Just not skating, bad decisions. Our breakouts were terrible,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Just a tough time getting in and out of the zone tonight. So, it kind of messes up your whole game.”

With Colorado's loss, the Dallas Stars, who lost 4-0 to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, clinched at least second place in the Central Division. The Avalanche, who are six points behind the Stars and seven ahead of both the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues, will finish third in the division.

“You should play kind of the same way no matter what. I mean, you're only human. You can't play every single game your best, but you can try,” Blackwood said. “So, I think that it's important that we keep trying to push and finish strong.”

DeBrusk gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 4:50 of the second period when he drove the net and chipped Sherwood’s centering pass up and over Blackwood.

Sherwood extended the lead to 2-0 with a wrist shot short side from the right dot at 7:51.

“I thought we played pretty well. Limited their scoring chances, and I thought we played a pretty stingy game,” Sherwood said. “We got a lot of contributions from a lot of guys. It was great game by [Lankinen]. It was a good last road game for us.”

Toews cut it to 2-1 when he redirected Coyle’s wrist shot from inside the blue line from the left hash marks at 16:36.

“I think it's his second or third tip-in goal of the year. He's got a good stick,” Makar said of the deflection. “You want to feel confident in your abilities going to playoffs.”

Joshua pushed it to 3-1 at 6:14 of the third period, burying the rebound of Aatu Raty’s initial shot from the point.

“When he plays like that, he's a difference maker. A big guy that can hold onto pucks, that scores around the net, those are hard to find,” Tocchet said of Joshua. "So, he's a guy that, when he does that, he's really effective for us.”

Hoglander scored into an empty net at 18:02 for the 4-1 final.

NOTES: Lankinen became the third goalie in Canucks history to earn 25 wins in his first season with the franchise, joining Roberto Luongo (47 in 2006-07) and Ryan Miller (29 in 2014-15). … Sherwood extended his point streak to four games (two goals, three assists). … Coyle extended his point streak to four games (one goal, six assists).