Canucks beat Avs to continue running away with division

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The Vancouver Canucks built on their daunting division lead with a 3-1 home victory over Northwest foes Colorado on Wednesday.

Jannik Hansen scored with under seven minutes left in the third period to break a 1-1 tie, and Alexandre Burrows made sure of the win with an empty-net score in the final couple of minutes.

Vancouver (36-15-6) now has a 16-point advantage in the Northwest, the largest division lead in the NHL, while trailing the Western Conference-leading Detroit Red Wings by just two points.

Roberto Luongo kept his team in control with 29 saves, allowing only a second-period goal to Colorado's Erik Johnson.

David Booth converted a backhand 13 seconds into the first to get the Canucks off to a fast start.

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Ransom)