CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Markus Naslund and Anson Carter scored nine seconds apart in the second period to lead Vancouver to a 2-1 win over Calgary on Tuesday night and move the Canucks into a first-place tie with the Flames atop the Northwest Division.

Vancouver (34-21-5) has won three straight against its division rival after losing the first four meetings of the season. The Canucks continue a three-game road trip Thursday night in Nashville.

Calgary led 1-0 and seemed to be controlling the play when the complexion of the contest quickly changed.

At 18:20, Steve McCarthy’s pass to Brendan Morrison at the Flames blue-line caught Calgary on a line change. Morrison then chipped the puck to Naslund, who broke in alone and fired a high shot past Miikka Kiprusoff.

Just nine seconds later, Bryan Allen and Olympic goal medallist Daniel Sedin combined to spring Carter for his 22nd of the year. Carter beat Kiprusoff with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle.

That’s all the offense Vancouver needed as goalie Alex Auld stopped 30 shots to improve to 26-16-3. Auld was busiest in the second, stopping all 14 shots he faced as Vancouver took the lead despite being outshot 14-7.

Dion Phaneuf had four shots in the second as the Flames squandered three straight power-play chances to open the period.

Auld had to be at his best considering Vancouver’s defense was minus four regulars, with Olympic casualties Sami Salo (shoulder) and Mattias Ohlund (ribs) joining Ed Jovanovski (groin) and Nolan Baumgartner (ankle) on the sidelines.

Robyn Regehr scored for Calgary (33-18-7), which lost for only the second time in 11 home games (8-2-1). He tallied a power-play goal at 8:53 of the first.

Notes: Calgary D Bryan Marchment was back in the lineup after missing 16 games with a knee injury. Marchment’s return, along with the acquisition of D Cale Hulse from the Columbus Blue Jackets, resulted in the Flames returning D Mark Giordano back to Omaha (AHL). Recalled on Sunday, Giordano was only in town for two practices. . . . Vancouver C Brendan Morrison has no goals in 12 games while Calgary LW Tony Amonte is scoreless in 13 games. . . . Calgary’s record against divisional opponents dropped to 14-6-2 while Vancouver’s improved to 10-11-4 . . . Recalled on Monday from Manitoba (AHL), Vancouver D Tomas Mojzis and Sven Butenschon each took a regular shift.

AP-ES-03-01-06 0003EST