Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Milan Hejduk picked up two goals and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche used a four-goal second period to top the Vancouver Canucks, 6-3, at Pepsi Center.

Paul Stastny added a goal and two assists for the Avs, winners of two straight after a four-game losing streak. Jordan Leopold, Cody McLeod and Ben Guite also tallied for Colorado, while Peter Forsberg posted a trio of helpers, his first three-point game since returning to the Avalanche on March 4.

"I just have to keep on working," Forsberg said. "It is hard not to put pressure on myself but I played the best game so far."

Jose Theodore made 28 saves to pick up his 25th victory of the season.

With the win, Colorado moved two points ahead of Vancouver for the seventh spot in the Western Conference. The Canucks hold a two-point lead over idle Nashville for the final playoff slot.

Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who have lost three straight for the first time all year. Henrik Sedin added a pair of assists, while Taylor Pyatt and Sami Salo also scored. Roberto Luongo allowed five goals on 23 shots before being pulled for Curtis Sanford, who stopped 13- of-14 the rest of the way.

"It is unusual to get to (Luongo) like this," Hejduk said. "It just does not happen often. We had good chances tonight, and sometimes the pucks just go in."

Trailing 2-1 after 20 minutes, Colorado tied the game at the 4:54 mark of the second when Forsberg slid a pass to Hejduk in the slot for a blast that slipped behind Luongo, allowing Stastny to poke the puck into the net.

"(Stastny and Forsberg) are two great players, and a lot of fun to play with," Hejduk said.

Just over a minute later, John-Michael Liles fired a lead pass for McLeod, who raced into the Vancouver zone ahead of the defense and beat Luongo through the five-hole for a 3-2 Avs lead.

Hejduk extended the Colorado lead to 4-2 just past the halfway point of the second, picking up a pass from Stastny and beating Luongo on a two-on-one. One minute later, Guite poked home a rebound for a three-goal edge that chased Luongo in favor of Sanford.

Salo's blast from the point brought the Canucks within 5-3 in the final 10 seconds of the frame, but the Avs maintained the two-goal margin heading into the final stanza.

Hejduk picked up his second goal of the game just 23 seconds into the third, pushing the Avalanche lead back to three. Theodore stopped all nine Vancouver shots in the final session as the Avs cruised to victory.

Colorado's power play opened the scoring just 5:10 in, when Ruslan Salei feathered a cross-ice pass to Leopold, who blasted a shot past a lunging Luongo.

Vancouver evened up the score less than five minutes later. As Ryan Smyth was leaving the penalty box after serving a hooking minor, Henrik Sedin slipped a feed to Daniel Sedin in the slot for a one-timer that eluded Theodore.

Three minutes later, Henrik Sedin picked up his second assist when he found Pyatt in the slot for a shot that slipped between Theodore's legs and barely trickled over the goal line to give Vancouver a 2-1 edge.

"I think we were still in it after the first, but in the second, they generated a lot of chances and crashed the net," Luongo said. "We have been up and down the last few months but we are not panicking, we've just got to get ready for the next game and take care of business."