ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Markus Naslund broke a tie early in the second period with his team-leading seventh goal to help the Vancouver Canucks beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

The Canucks are 8-1-1, matching the best record after 10 games in team history. Their only regulation loss came on Oct. 12 when Minnesota won 6-0 in St. Paul.

Naslund, who had five shots on goal in the second period, gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead, taking a pass from Todd Bertuzzi on a 2-on-1 break and banking a low shot off goalie Manny Fernandez’s right arm.

Jarkko Ruutu and Henrik Sedin also scored for the Canucks, and Alex Auld made 27 saves to improve to 3-0-0. Alexandre Daigle scored for Minnesota.

Ruutu scored his first goal of the season midway through the first period, sweeping in a loose puck after Sami Salo’s shot from the point hit traffic in front of the Minnesota net.

Minnesota tied it on a power play late in the first when Daigle beat Auld with a rising shot from the right circle. The Wild, who entered the game with the league’s second-best power play numbers, went just 1-for-7 with the man advantage.

Daniel and Henrik Sedin combined to give the Canucks some breathing room midway through the second period. Henrik redirected a shot by Daniel past Fernandez on a power play to give Vancouver a 3-1 lead. Fernandez stopped 33 shots in his first regulation loss of the season.

Notes: Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell, who will serve in the same role with the U.S. Olympic team, attended the game, taking a closer look at Minnesota’s Brian Rolston and Vancouver’s Richard Park and Ryan Kesler. All three attended the team’s orientation camp in early September. … Canucks defenseman Ed Jovanovski played in his 400th game with Vancouver.

AP-ES-10-25-05 2239EDT

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